Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC

Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,852 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 19,958 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.8% of Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $9,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. EdgeRock Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 27,717 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,941,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 79,165 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $19,825,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 54,402 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 45,768 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,461,000 after buying an additional 1,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,436 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,387,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business'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 value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $4.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $194.21. 35,841,839 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,061,588. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.13. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. 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 quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding 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 often a sign 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.