Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,746 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 560 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.1% of Brooks Moore & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $196.45 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $201.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

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

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.