Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Has $10.92 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,704 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.7% of Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $210.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $192.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.46. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $220.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

About Apple

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.