Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC

Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 11.8% of Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Apple by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,501,000 after buying an additional 34,414 shares during the period. 5th Street Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,518,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Simmons Bank increased its holdings in Apple by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $30,905,000 after buying an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,972,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $212.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $207.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.