Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 178,242 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,552 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.8% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $39,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $210.02 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $204.32 and a 200-day moving average of $216.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase 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 0.50%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’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 transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.11.

Apple Company 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.