Oak Asset Management LLC Sells 2,035 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Oak Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 154,118 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,035 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 11.8% of Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $169.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.80 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Redburn Partners downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. DA Davidson started coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.