Avity Investment Management Inc. Has $74.60 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Avity Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 335,827 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,713 shares during the period. Apple comprises 6.0% of Avity Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Avity Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $74,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 2.8% in the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,045,000 after acquiring an additional 5,120 shares during the period. Allstate Corp raised its position in Apple by 3,368.2% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $113,062,000 after acquiring an additional 438,471 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Apple by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $192,700,000 after acquiring an additional 83,997 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.92 on Friday, reaching $213.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,955,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,594,994. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.66. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

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.