Absher Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Absher Wealth Management cut its Apple stake by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,773 shares and leaving it with 86,118 shares valued at about $23.4 million.
• Wall Street remains bullish on Apple, with several analysts raising price targets; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” and the average target price is $308.74.
• Apple’s latest results were strong, as it beat earnings and revenue estimates, and the company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Absher Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,118 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,773 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.8% of Absher Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Absher Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $23,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $269.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.63. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $311.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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