Apex Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,912 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Apex Wealth Management reduced its Apple stake by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,912 shares and leaving it with 8,613 shares valued at about $2.2 million.
• Apple’s latest earnings topped expectations, with EPS of $2.01 versus $1.95 expected and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on Apple, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $305.74; Apple also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Apex Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 31.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,613 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,912 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.2% of Apex Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Apex Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Overbrook Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,449,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Montis Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 77,919 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $19,841,000 after purchasing an additional 10,640 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 120,674 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $30,727,000 after purchasing an additional 21,054 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $296.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $293.25 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50-day moving average is $261.85 and its 200 day moving average is $266.04. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $294.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.58%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

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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