Sheets Smith Wealth Management reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,608 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,431 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.4% of Sheets Smith Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Sheets Smith Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $11,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 28.3% during the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,045,000 after acquiring an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after acquiring an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.25.
View Our Latest Stock Report on AAPL
Apple Stock Performance
Shares of Apple stock traded up $10.20 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $213.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 102,898,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,348,797. The business's 50-day moving average price is $205.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity at Apple
In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Apple Profile
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Free Report)
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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