Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Buys 310 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Posted by on Apr 2nd, 2023

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,583 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.8% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Robinson Value Management Ltd. bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP boosted its stake in Apple by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $164.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.17 and a 1 year high of $179.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.30.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.05). Apple had a return on equity of 163.45% and a net margin of 24.56%. The firm had revenue of $117.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Apple from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. National Bank Financial decreased their price target on Apple to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 20th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Apple from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $184.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,253,004.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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