D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. Sells 1,907 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,907 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.6% of D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $25,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.40 on Thursday, hitting $199.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,675,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,560,287. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.