Verity & Verity LLC Has $27.54 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Verity & Verity LLC cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,999 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,605 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.4% of Verity & Verity LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $27,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $211.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,032,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,131,376. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.41.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.27.

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.