Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Lowered by Ridgeline Wealth LLC

Ridgeline Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,558 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 0.5% of Ridgeline Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Ridgeline Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,999,145,000 after buying an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $213.36 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. 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’s 50 day moving average is $203.35 and its 200-day moving average is $218.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.