FSM Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,617 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 5,219 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.3% of FSM Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $10,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $4.2250 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $226.3350. 21,412,486 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,531,371. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $210.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.06. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America upped their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.