Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Reduced by Argent Capital Management LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 17th, 2023

Argent Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 769,586 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,875 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.6% of Argent Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $99,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. MKT Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. now owns 3,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Weik Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Weik Capital Management now owns 25,238 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 26,125 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,572,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Apple from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Cowen cut their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Apple in a report on Sunday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $199.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Fundamental Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.29.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $172.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $176.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.30%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.