Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 20.8% during Q1, now holding 25,665 shares valued at approximately $5.7 million.
• Apple reported $94.04 billion in quarterly revenue, surpassing estimates, and $1.57 EPS that exceeded expectations of $1.43.
• The company has initiated a $100 billion stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 20.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,665 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,418 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.3% of Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $5,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

Apple stock traded up $2.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $227.76. The company had a trading volume of 42,431,176 shares, 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $212.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding 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 usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.