Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC Has $10.01 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.7%, acquiring an additional 2,420 shares, making Apple its 17th largest holding valued at over $10 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently bought shares of Apple, increasing institutional ownership to approximately 67.73% of the company's stock.
• Apple's most recent earnings report exceeded analyst expectations, with a revenue of $94.04 billion and an EPS of $1.57, indicating a year-over-year revenue growth of 9.6%.

Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,059 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,420 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.8% of Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $10,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.37.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $2.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $232.99. 20,569,050 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,837,367. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.05.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

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.