Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Capital Market Strategies LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Capital Market Strategies LLC reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,212 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,770 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 9.2% of Capital Market Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $200.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.98. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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 paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. Scotiabank cut Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.86.

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.