Monarch Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,492 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,997 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,492 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.9% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Apple by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $456,728,000 after acquiring an additional 435,891 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Markel Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $210,752,000 after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares during the period. Camden Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the first quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,305,000 after purchasing an additional 13,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,629,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.23.

Apple Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $169.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $159.78 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 253,915 shares of company stock valued at $44,202,868. 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.