L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP Sells 10,153 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 242,528 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 10,153 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 6.6% of L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP's holdings in Apple were worth $53,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm'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 value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $213.36. 34,955,836 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,553,547. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.40. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 (DPR) is 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.