Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Lifted by Values Added Financial LLC

Key Points

• Values Added Financial LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 23.7% in Q1, now owning 34,976 shares valued at approximately $7.77 million, making Apple its 5th largest holding.
• Apple reported a 9.6% revenue increase year-over-year with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The board authorized a stock buyback program of up to $100 billion, indicating confidence in the company's valuation and future growth potential.

Values Added Financial LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 23.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,976 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 6,701 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.3% of Values Added Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Values Added Financial LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $147,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $2.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. 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 $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $212.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.09. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays raised 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. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.98.

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.