Augustine Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,461 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 138,695 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,461 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 9.0% of Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $30,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $147,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Apple Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of AAPL opened at $233.33 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $208.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.