Opinicus Capital Inc. Sells 747 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Opinicus Capital Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,467 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 747 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 8.5% of Opinicus Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Opinicus Capital Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Apple Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $210.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.41.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during 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%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. 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 presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.27.

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.