Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Takes Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Moody Aldrich Partners LLC has invested approximately $408,000 in Apple Inc. by acquiring 1,837 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• Insider selling was noted as SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 34,821 shares for over $7.77 million, reducing their ownership by 20.30%.
• Apple's stock price has recently seen a 2.0% decline, with analysts predicting a price target range between $240.00 and $275.00 for its shares.

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,837 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the 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 directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $2.86 on Friday, hitting $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $212.52 and a 200 day moving average of $213.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during 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%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.98.

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.