Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Trimmed by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 514,585 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 22,729 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.7% of Brighton Jones LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $114,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. James Hambro & Partners LLP grew its stake in Apple by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 4,704 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Apple by 3.1% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 685,783 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $152,333,000 after acquiring an additional 20,913 shares during the period. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.9% in the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 98.9% in the first quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,586 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,794,000 after acquiring an additional 15,205 shares during the period. Finally, Newport Capital Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 2.9% in the first quarter. Newport Capital Group LLC now owns 7,182 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $212.31. 40,713,768 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,135,758. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $204.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.11.

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.