Puzo Michael J Sells 3,543 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Puzo Michael J lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,266 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,543 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.1% of Puzo Michael J's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Puzo Michael J's holdings in Apple were worth $17,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.94.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $214.05. 37,786,671 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,818,408. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $204.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.