Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Trimmed by WCG Wealth Advisors LLC

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 189,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,908 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.1% of WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $47,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $1,633,655,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,460,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Apple by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 21,297 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,333,000 after buying an additional 8,581 shares during the period. McMill Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,145,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $11,218,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AAPL opened at $196.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $202.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.30.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.86.

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.