Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,890 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 31,806 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.6% of Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,556,000. LifeWealth Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,167,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,062,000. Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,282,000. Finally, Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in Apple by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $201.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.71. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.52%. 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 is 16.20%.

Apple 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.