Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,450 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 439 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.2% of Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after purchasing an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $211.18 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $204.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.85.

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, 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend 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 is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price 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. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.11.

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.