DGS Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 52,003 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 6,932 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.5% of DGS Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RFG Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. now owns 7,524 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 139,292 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,886,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.4% during the first quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC now owns 4,780 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 71.0% during the first quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,776 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after acquiring an additional 11,116 shares during the period. Finally, Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 49,858 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $221.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $221.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $194.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.60.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.