Venturi Wealth Management LLC Has $33.34 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,191 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,317 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.4% of Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $33,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Apple by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Apple by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,605,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,576 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,020,609,000 after purchasing an additional 287,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Apple by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,616,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,502,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Piper Sandler Companies lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.05.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $169.02 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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. The company has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.80 and a 52-week high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

About Apple

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.