Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Trimmed by Goelzer Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Goelzer Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 0.9%, holding now 152,016 shares valued at approximately $33.77 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Apple, with Citigroup setting a new target of $245 and JPMorgan at $255, while the company's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $1.57 per share, surpassing expectations and reflecting a revenue increase to $94.04 billion, up 9.6% year-over-year.

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 152,016 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,446 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.0% of Goelzer Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $33,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,138,299 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $252,850,000 after purchasing an additional 42,634 shares during the last quarter. Team Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Team Financial Group LLC now owns 3,741 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Point Financial LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 5.0% during the first quarter. Vantage Point Financial LLC now owns 23,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 5.1% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 132,387 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $29,407,000 after acquiring an additional 6,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Three Cord True Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 3.2% during the first quarter. Three Cord True Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.25.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.97 on Monday, reaching $203.35. 74,983,799 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,129,035. 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 market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.50.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

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 value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

About Apple

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.