Wambolt & Associates LLC Sells 2,145 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Wambolt & Associates LLC has decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 3.9%, now owning 52,525 shares, which makes Apple its largest holding at a value of $11.7 million.
• Despite some reductions, several other institutional investors, such as First National Bank of Hutchinson and Brighton Jones LLC, have increased their stakes in Apple during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Apple, with the stock rated as a "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.05, following recent upgrades from multiple firms.

Wambolt & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,525 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,145 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.0% of Wambolt & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Wambolt & Associates LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $11,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.64.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

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.