Jim Saulnier & Associates LLC Grows Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Jim Saulnier & Associates LLC significantly increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 181.2%, acquiring an additional 3,146 shares to reach a total of 4,882 shares worth approximately $1,084,000.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.25 to $0.26, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.49%, and has authorized a $100 billion stock buyback plan.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments about Apple, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94, accompanied by a spread of ratings from sell to strong buy.

Jim Saulnier & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 181.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,882 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,146 shares during the quarter. Jim Saulnier & Associates LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Link Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Provident Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,140,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the first quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 32,532 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,226,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Siligmueller & Norvid Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 3.4% in the first quarter. Siligmueller & Norvid Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 31,237 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,939,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $208.82. 13,029,085 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,191,012. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $205.10 and a 200-day moving average of $214.16. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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.