Beaton Management Co. Inc. Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,752 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 525 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.5% of Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Apple to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.60.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $231.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $209.69 and its 200 day moving average is $213.33.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.