Sky Investment Group LLC Sells 939 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sky Investment Group LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,782 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 939 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.5% of Sky Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $209.11 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.45. The company has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.20. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded 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, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.27.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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.