Biltmore Wealth Management LLC Sells 73 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Biltmore Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,673 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 0.6% of Biltmore Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $211.18 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $204.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.