WMS Group LLC Takes $4.58 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

WMS Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 16,865 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $4,582,000. Apple makes up 5.8% of WMS Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in Apple by 890.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after purchasing an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $298.01 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.85 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $289.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.