Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 301,630 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,147 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.8% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $75,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Apple Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $202.87. The company had a trading volume of 7,999,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,960,201. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.
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About Apple
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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.
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