Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 35.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,984 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,850 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.6% of Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $1,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Finally, Uncommon Cents Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 10,457 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,619,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $210.01. 42,218,952 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,538,384. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. UBS Group set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Apple 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.