Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,053 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 5,158 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 0.7% of Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $5,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $202.28. 29,288,934 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,013,061. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $201.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.54. The company has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James cut their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

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.