Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Central Bank & Trust Co.’s 3rd Largest Position

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 2nd, 2023

Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,153 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,214 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.2% of Central Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $17,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised 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 during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Markel Corp raised its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $210,752,000 after acquiring an additional 8,450 shares during the last quarter. Camden Capital LLC raised its stake in Apple by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,305,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,629,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 77,817 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $81,363,335.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total value of $32,984.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 177,657 shares in the company, valued at $29,299,192.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 77,817 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,363,335.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 251,799 shares of company stock worth $41,711,912. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $193.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $177.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $194.48.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. DA Davidson downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $193.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.52.

Apple Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.