Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Sells 17,817 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 20.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,838 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 17,817 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 0.6% of Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $15,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its position in Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.17 on Monday, reaching $214.05. 37,786,671 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,818,408. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $204.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs 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 was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.94.

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.