C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,474 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 518 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.3% of C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.4% during the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 10,061,591 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,344,351,000 after acquiring an additional 332,081 shares during the last quarter. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,981 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 83.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 277,720 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $64,709,000 after purchasing an additional 126,522 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P grew its position in Apple by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 128,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $29,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harmony Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.6% in the third quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 74,175 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $203.92 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.02.

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.