WBI Investments LLC Acquires 1,564 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

WBI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,017 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.8% of WBI Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $3,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Salus Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Sharpepoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.5% during the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the first quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of AAPL opened at $234.07 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. HSBC set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.

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