Waterway Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,395 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Waterway Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,250 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,395 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.2% of Waterway Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Waterway Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $288,000. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in Apple by 10.1% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $87,501,000 after purchasing an additional 34,414 shares during the period. 5th Street Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 32.9% during the third quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $30,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,972,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $198.53. The stock had a trading volume of 36,406,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,072,491. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm's fifty day moving average is $208.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.38. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.80.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple 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.