JCIC Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

JCIC Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 112,684 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,342 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 10.5% of JCIC Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. JCIC Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $25,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,045,000 after acquiring an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 3,368.2% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $113,062,000 after acquiring an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $9.32 on Friday, reaching $229.35. 113,661,399 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,719,256. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict 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 repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

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.