WMS Group LLC Buys Shares of 16,865 Apple Inc. $AAPL

WMS Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,865 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $4,582,000. Apple accounts for approximately 5.8% of WMS Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Overbrook Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $1,178,000. Tufton Capital Management raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $298.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.85 and a 1-year 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. 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. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.59.

Apple Company Profile

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.