Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,834 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,475 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 9.5% of Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $26,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $232.56. 38,033,434 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,066,536. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.29, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.37.

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.