FMB Wealth Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

FMB Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,437 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,137 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.1% of FMB Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. FMB Wealth Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on Apple and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays set a $173.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.27.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $208.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.50.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.