Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Stanley Laman Group Ltd.

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,349 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.3% of Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $210.16 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $204.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.74, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays set a $173.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.27.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.