Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Auxier Asset Management

Auxier Asset Management lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,952 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 493 shares during the quarter. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,992,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.86.

Apple Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AAPL opened at $196.58 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. 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%.

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.