Apple Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.27 (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of 0.27 per share by the iPhone maker on Thursday, August 13th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th.

Apple has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Apple has a payout ratio of 13.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Apple to earn $9.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.3%.

Apple Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $333.43 on Friday. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $309.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Apple will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.