126,179 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Purchased by GWN Securities Inc.

GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 126,179 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $31,598,000. Apple accounts for approximately 8.4% of GWN Securities Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

AAPL stock traded down $0.55 on Friday, reaching $199.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,470,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,035,679. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

About Apple

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.