ICA Group Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 14th, 2023

ICA Group Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 48.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,277 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 86,032 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.9% of ICA Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Apple by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 125,012 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,243,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 458,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,522,000 after acquiring an additional 5,335 shares in the last quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC now owns 786,819 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $102,232,000 after acquiring an additional 10,224 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,161,000. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 696,304 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $90,471,000 after buying an additional 12,776 shares in the last quarter. 57.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $78,253,004.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 200 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total value of $32,984.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 177,657 shares in the company, valued at $29,299,192.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of Apple 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 in the company, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, May 22nd. 58.com reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.40.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $183.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $171.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.17 and a 1-year high of $184.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 4th that allows the company to buyback $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.30%.

Apple Company Profile

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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.