Wendell David Associates Inc. Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Wendell David Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 292,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,797 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 6.5% of Wendell David Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Wendell David Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $65,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Scotiabank lowered Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays set a $173.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

AAPL stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $213.88. The company had a trading volume of 38,805,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,464,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 2.39 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.