Monarch Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,047 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,802 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.0% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Monarch Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $14,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 1.0% in the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 90,204 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $18,268,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,509 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,888,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 41,762 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $9,277,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 4.5% during the first quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,640 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gibson Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 6.6% in the first quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 12,124 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.05 on Wednesday, reaching $210.16. 47,405,502 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,186,701. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.20. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $203.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.45. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% 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 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.27.

Apple Company 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.