RJA Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,270,400 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 157,679 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 87.1% of RJA Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. RJA Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $282,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.5% during the first quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 21.9% in the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 198,810 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $44,162,000 after purchasing an additional 35,729 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 5.8% during the first quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 21,725 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 88,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $19,594,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,715 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,491,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.11.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Apple
Apple Stock Performance
NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $215.00. 26,462,465 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,728,691. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50 day moving average price is $204.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.18.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Transactions at Apple
In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Apple Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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