Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Lowered by Puzo Michael J

Puzo Michael J lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,541 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 5.9% of Puzo Michael J’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Puzo Michael J’s holdings in Apple were worth $20,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

AAPL opened at $199.20 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $201.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.37. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.86.

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.