Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Nelson Capital Management LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Nelson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 100,026 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,947 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.3% of Nelson Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 70.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 27.7% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $181.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $172.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.72.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.11.

Apple Company 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.