Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lessened by Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 41.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,607 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 36,569 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.5% of Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $12,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $288,000. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Apple by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $87,501,000 after acquiring an additional 34,414 shares during the last quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank increased its stake in Apple by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $30,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,972,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.60 on Wednesday, hitting $212.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,235,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,032,102. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $207.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

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.