Absher Wealth Management LLC Sells 7,939 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Absher Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,344 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,939 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.1% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after acquiring an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $188.38 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $229.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Raymond James increased their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.26.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.