CapWealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,584 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

CapWealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,205 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,584 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.1% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $202.33 to $167.88 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.85.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $196.79 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.77 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.