Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Increased by Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total shares to 50,015, valued at approximately $10.26 million.
• In its latest earnings report, Apple surpassed expectations with earnings of $1.57 per share and a revenue of $94.04 billion, up 9.6% year-over-year.
• Apple announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%, with a current payout ratio of 15.78%.

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,096 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.0% of Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $10,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $311,157,662,000 after buying an additional 5,005,297 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after buying an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded up $7.62 on Friday, reaching $245.50. The company had a trading volume of 163,435,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,568,860. The company has a fifty day moving average of $224.35 and a 200-day moving average of $212.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $242.74.

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.