Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,778 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 14,497 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.5% of Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Starfox Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Starfox Financial Services LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $3,148,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 2,340,129 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $304,053,000 after purchasing an additional 115,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $563,000. 57.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. 58.com reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Fundamental Research set a $183.86 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Apple from $176.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.72.
Apple Price Performance
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The company had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.30%.
Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 77,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.11, for a total transaction of $12,926,181.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $81,363,335.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total transaction of $9,261,412.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,766,188.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 77,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.11, for a total transaction of $12,926,181.87. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $81,363,335.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 251,799 shares of company stock worth $41,711,912 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
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.
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