How to Buy Apple Stock – Yes, It IS Possible
Who hasn’t heard about Apple and its amazing range of products? One of the top companies in the world, Apple Inc. has made a huge impact with its technological innovations and unique solutions. It is estimated that at least two-thirds of Americans have at least one Apple product. With each new product launch and highly anticipated Apple event, the company attracts thousands of customers and investors.
Apple stock has consistently gone up over the years. It hasn’t had a wild ride like many other stocks but it has won the market slow and steadily. Since its debut on the stock market in December 1980, Apple stock hit its highest price $145.09 in 2020. As of March 31, Apple’s stock stands at $122.15 a share. Do you want to get your hands on this growth stock? Here’s how you can do it.
Step 1: Finding a broker that offers Apple Stock
Apple is a publicly traded company and the stock is available to anyone willing to purchase equity. Out of all the different ways of buying Apple stock, the easiest and the cheapest is to go through a brokerage account. There are various brokers in the industry that offer the services but each has account minimums, commissions, and certain stocks they can sell. You can check out the different online brokerage platforms that enable the purchase and sale of stocks from your device. Consider all the options before investing. Some brokerages also allow the purchase of fractional shares so if you do not have enough funds on hand, do not worry. You can buy a part of the share. Here are some online platforms worth considering.
Related: Best Brokerages for Beginners
Wealthfront
Wealthfront is an investment platform that takes only minutes to enroll in with as little as $1. The company features planning and budgeting advice with banking, retirement accounts, college funds, and investing.
You will need to deposit $500 into an account with Wealthfront to begin investing through its robo-advisor program. Alas, you cannot select your stock picks with robo investing but it is a good way to get your feet wet if you are new to investing. To purchase Apple, you will have to have a minimum $100k portfolio, then you can invest in the companies of your choice.
Pros and cons
Pros
- 0.25% fee
- Auto rebalancing
Cons
- Limited access to some investment options if your portfolio is less than $100,000
- $500 minimum to start investing
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade has an easy-to-use interface and offers advanced investor options. It has more than 11 million funded broker accounts and provides a variety of trading options including common stock, preferred stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, money market accounts, and options.
It has educational resources, which help make the right buying decisions. You can go through market news, how-to guides, and in-depth articles to get insights into the stock market. There are two mobile apps for users. One is a basic app that allows you to trade and explore its resources. The other app includes all the basics in addition to the option to participate in live text and screen sharing with experts in the industry. It also gives access to multi-leg options, forex, stocks, 24/5 trading, and futures. If you do not want to invest yourself and want investment advice, you can opt for broker-assisted services at $25. You can also have a margin trading account for $2,000.
There is no minimum opening deposit or commission fees on online stock, ETF trades, or options. TD Ameritrade does not offer fractional shares.
Pros and cons
Pros
- User-friendly investing platform
- Access to two mobile apps
- No minimum account balances
- No monthly fees
- Access to TD resources
Cons
- There is no goal-based investment strategy
- Fractional shares are not sold.
- High margin rates
Robinhood
Robinhood is an ideal app for beginners. It is a free trading platform and there are no fees to open an account. When you open an account, you will be given access to up to $1,000 of instant deposits. It is known as a Robinhood Instant account. You can also opt for a Robinhood cash account if you want to. It has $0 commission trades but there are no instant settlements or deposits.
You can also upgrade to paid services for only $5 a month. It will upgrade you to the Robinhood Gold account and includes the instant deposits that start at $5,000 and increase as per your portfolio value. Through Robinhood Gold, it is possible to borrow money from Robinhood to purchase stocks.
It charges three types of fees – trading activity fee charged for more than 50 shares purchased, a Regulatory transaction fee that is paid to the SEC but is not charged for values less than $500, and an American depository receipt fee of about $0.01 to $0.03 per share when traded on American exchanges.
You can also purchase fractional shares on Robinhood. So if you think Apple stock is priced too high, you can buy a part of the stock. There is no minimum amount required to sign up and there is no monthly fee either.
Pros and cons
Pros
- User-friendly investing platform
- Fractional shares are sold
- No minimum account balances
- No monthly fees
- Options investing with Instant or Gold account
Cons
- There is no goal-based investment strategy
- A limited number of investment products are available
Robinhood
Robinhood is an ideal app for beginners. It is a free trading platform and there are no fees to open an account. When you open an account, you will be given access to up to $1,000 of instant deposits. It is known as a Robinhood Instant account. You can also opt for a Robinhood cash account if you want to. It has $0 commission trades but there are no instant settlements or deposits.
You can also upgrade to paid services for only $5 a month. It will upgrade you to the Robinhood Gold account and includes the instant deposits that start at $5,000 and increase as per your portfolio value. Through Robinhood Gold, it is possible to borrow money from Robinhood to purchase stocks.
It charges three types of fees – trading activity fee charged for more than 50 shares purchased, a Regulatory transaction fee that is paid to the SEC but is not charged for values less than $500, and an American depository receipt fee of about $0.01 to $0.03 per share when traded on American exchanges.
You can also purchase fractional shares on Robinhood. So if you think Apple stock is priced too high, you can buy a part of the stock. There is no minimum amount required to sign up and there is no monthly fee either.
Pros and cons
Pros
- User-friendly investing platform
- Fractional shares are sold
- No minimum account balances
- No monthly fees
- Options investing with Instant or Gold account
Cons
- There is no goal-based investment strategy
- A limited number of investment products are available
Step 2: Research Apple shares
Apple is a technology company that was founded in 1976 in Cupertino, California. It was founded by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Wozniak to build and sell Wozniak’s Apple I personal computer. It was incorporated as Apple Inc. in 1977.
The company designs, develops, and sells personal computer software, consumer electronics, and online services. It is one of the top companies in the IT sector and stands alongside Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Facebook. It offers some of the top consumer products including the Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple Watch. It also has enabled Apple Pay, which can be used to make secure purchases in the app store and on the web.
Today, the company sells products across the world and generates significant revenue. It is constantly innovating new products and is also working on an Apple electric car project. It remains one of the most popular companies in the IT sector.
Apple Inc. is listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol AAPL. It made its debut as a public company on December 12, 1980. The IPO price was $22 per share and sold 4.6 million shares and made instant billionaires. The stock fell in the 1990s but rose again in 2000 with the computer boom. The concern about Jobs’ health also pulled the stock down. It soon reclaimed its growth and hit new highs. It hit an all-time high of $702 in 2012 and the company did a 7-to-1 stock split in 2014.
Apple price history
The best way to make money through stock investment is to subscribe to an IPO and Apple is no exception. The company has grown by leaps and bounds with time and the share that debuted at $22 is now exchanging hands at $122. If you had invested $1,000 in Apple in the IPO, you would have received 45 shares and today it would be worth several shares and dollars considering the stock split.
Apple stock split five times since the IPO in 1987, 2000, 2005, 2014, and 2020.
Apple dividend information
Apple has consistently paid cash dividends over the years. It is considered a dividend aristocrat and is the first choice of investors who are looking for dividend stocks. It paid the first dividend in 2012 and has consistently paid till today. It enjoys a dividend yield of 0.7% and an annualized dividend of $0.82. The CEO recently stated that the company plans for annual dividend increases.
Best features of Apple stock
Many investors did not have the chance to buy Apple stock in the IPO or during the initial years of the company. However, you can still buy it. Apple is the first publicly traded company that is worth $1 trillion in value.
What makes the stock appealing is the stock splits and dividends. Even if you buy a small number of stocks today, you will be able to gain big in the long term. Besides the regular dividend payment, the company also offers stock splits and this could increase your holding in the company without investing any money. Although there is no guarantee of a stock split, it has happened five times in the past, so there is hope. The stock split has also made it less expensive for investors to own the shares. The valuation of the company is high and it enjoys a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion making it one of the most valued in the tech industry.
Apple has an impressive line of products that make it appealing to all investors. In the recent quarter, the company reported quarterly sales of $100 billion for the first time. Despite the pandemic, the company reported high sales and revenues, thus, increasing the earnings ratio.
Apple makes product launches each year, which are met with high enthusiasm from the consumers. There is a huge demand for its products and even though they are higher priced as compared to the competitors, consumers are willing to pay for them. As we adopt technology in our daily lives and learn to work, shop, learn, and entertain from home, the demand for electronics is only going higher. Apple will continue to see a surge in sales and revenues. The company’s reputation in the market is strong and it will boost the stock price in the future.
Further, Apple Car is only a speculation at this point but it is a reason to be bullish on the stock. The electric vehicle market is huge and the demand for EV cars is only going higher. Apple’s entry into the space will attract buyers and will give a strong boost to the stock. Yes, Apple is not the first mover or at the top in the EV race but its technology and innovation may lead to a surge in demand. Consumers are eagerly awaiting updates about Apple Cars and whenever it makes an entry, analysts expect it to hold 5% of the market share.
Related: How to Buy Tesla Stock – Pay No Fees
The share price does not reflect the electric vehicle. An EV boost can take the stock to new highs. Do not be driven by the short-term dip in the stock, it could be due to the recent sell-off and has impacted all stocks. The long-term prospects of Apple stock look bright.
Step 3: Open an account & buy Apple shares
If you want to own Apple shares, it is time to open an online brokerage account and get started with your investment. I'll use Robinhood to show you how. It has a simple and hassle-free procedure, and you can open an account without depositing any money.
Once you have decided the amount of money you want to invest and the stocks you want to buy, head to the Robinhood website. On the homepage, you will see the resources and details about the products. You can learn more about the products you are keen on investing in.
To proceed, click on “Sign up.”
You will be taken to a page where you need to provide your legal name, email, and password. Click on Continue and you will be asked for personal details like date of birth, citizenship, and social security number. Next, you will have to provide details about your experience as an investor.
Then you need to provide your employment information. After you provide the occupation and name of the employer, you will be asked if you or a family member are a 10% shareholder of a publicly traded company. This question is only to prevent insider trading. Additionally, you will have to answer if you or any family member work for another brokerage.
Once this is done, you apply and set up the funding for your account. You can link your bank account and fund it immediately or choose to do it later. The process is quick and straightforward. You can only start trading after you have funded the account.
After you have zeroed in one of the best brokers to open an account with, you need to understand the order types. You can purchase shares of Apple through a market order or a limit order. In a market order, you buy the shares at the current price, and in a limit order, you specify the rate at which you are willing to buy the shares. The trading platform will execute the order accordingly.
FAQs
How much were Apple shares when the company first went public?
Apple stock was priced at $22 when it first went public in 1980 through an IPO.
How much does it cost to buy Apple shares today?
As of closing on March 31, 2021, Apple shares cost $122.15.
What is the minimum number of Apple shares that I can buy?
You can purchase one share or a fractional share if you use the right brokerage.
The bottom line
If you want to dip your toe in the stock market and want to buy Apple stock, you need to first access your financial situation and then proceed. Different investors have different investment goals and it is important to keep them in mind before putting your money in a stock. The stock market remains volatile and it will have an impact on your investment.
If you have been following Apple stock for some time now and are keen on adding it to your portfolio, choose the right brokerage for the same. The stock has consistently grown over the years and pays a regular dividend. It can help set up a regular dividend income. You can get a bite of Apple, even with a few dollars. Through online brokers like Robinhood or Stash, you can own fractional shares, so you do not have to set aside hundreds of dollars for one share.
Keep your risk appetite in mind and invest in long-term goals. All stocks come with their risks and you need to be able to tolerate the downside. Remaining invested for the long-term can generate stable returns and high growth.
Related: How to Buy Microsoft Stock
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