Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Reduced by Wealthgarden F.S. LLC

Wealthgarden F.S. LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 97.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,658 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 297,772 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.0% of Wealthgarden F.S. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Wealthgarden F.S. LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 3.7 %

Apple stock traded down $7.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $205.35. 100,891,435 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,620,753. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $212.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.25.

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.