WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Buys 4,088 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 4,088 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.2% of WealthTrust Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Austin Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,888 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,019,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 41,280 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $9,170,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 35,661 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,921,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Rik Saylor Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rik Saylor Financial Inc. now owns 10,241 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 101,414 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $21,420,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.37.

Apple Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $232.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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