Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Guardian Investment Management

Key Points

• Guardian Investment Management reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 7.4% in Q1, now owning 88,740 shares valued at approximately $19.7 million.
• Apple's stock price was down 0.5% recently, with a current average price target of $237.60 from analysts.
• Apple declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.4%, and has an authorized share buyback plan worth $100 billion.

Guardian Investment Management lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,740 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,129 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 15.9% of Guardian Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Guardian Investment Management's holdings in Apple were worth $19,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its stake in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC raised its stake in Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.9810 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.9090. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,787,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,647,684. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $210.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

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.