Chilton Capital Management LLC Sells 3,689 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Chilton Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 0.8% during Q1, holding 447,896 shares, which is worth approximately $99.49 million.
• Senior Vice President Deirdre O'Brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple at an average price of $223.20, reducing her stake by 20.3%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Apple, with an average price target of $237.98, following recent upgrades from several financial institutions.

Chilton Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 447,896 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,689 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.3% of Chilton Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Chilton Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $99,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $2.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $227.76. The stock had a trading volume of 42,431,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. 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 50-day simple moving average of $212.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.