MV Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

MV Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,077 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,267 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.0% of MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position in shares of 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 worth $4,178,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,992,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $211.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.12. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.27.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.