WESCAP Management Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

WESCAP Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 229.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,278 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 53,123 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.6% of WESCAP Management Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. WESCAP Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $19,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Weaver Consulting Group raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 36,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,464,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.1% in the third quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,388 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,886,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 10.7% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 351,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $81,865,000 after acquiring an additional 34,097 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 3,091,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $720,220,000 after acquiring an additional 439,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,332,627 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $543,502,000 after acquiring an additional 407,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $198.84. 14,546,869 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,449,083. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $200.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. 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, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.