Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Reduced by Audent Global Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Audent Global Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.2%, owning 32,990 shares and making Apple its second largest investment.
• Apple announced a $100 billion share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its stock's valuation, and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.
• Analysts remain optimistic, with many maintaining "buy" ratings and increasing price targets for Apple, which currently has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion.

Audent Global Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,990 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,795 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 6.0% of Audent Global Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Audent Global Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clark Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 6.5% in the first quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 66,674 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,810,000 after buying an additional 4,056 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 24.4% in the first quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 9,071 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,015,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 2.7% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 82,118 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,241,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 18.1% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 575,216 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $127,773,000 after buying an additional 88,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the first quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,459 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,432,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $3.4310 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $228.3310. The company had a trading volume of 26,319,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,298,688. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $211.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business 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%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.98.

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.