Seelaus Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Seelaus Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 32,376 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 6.1% of Seelaus Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Seelaus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, 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 at the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $172.17 and its 200 day moving average is $181.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

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.