Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,877 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,891 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.6% of Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $6,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 15,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,666,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 154,737 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $38,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.27.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $211.16. 39,713,698 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,392,240. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $203.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.73. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

About Apple

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.