Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC's 6th Largest Position

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,043 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,646 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.9% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $34,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. King Wealth Management Group boosted its position in Apple by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 136,570 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,200,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210 shares in the last quarter. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,172,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,383,000. LBP AM SA increased its stake in Apple by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 971,086 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $243,179,000 after acquiring an additional 71,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integras Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $890,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $195.27 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $205.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Company Profile

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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