Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Reduced by Paradigm Strategies in Wealth Management LLC

Paradigm Strategies in Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,180 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,684 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.4% of Paradigm Strategies in Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Paradigm Strategies in Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Flagstone Financial Management increased its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its position in Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $181.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $172.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.72.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.93%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 price objective (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.11.

Apple Company 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.