Rothschild Investment LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Rothschild Investment LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 289,661 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 11,357 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.3% of Rothschild Investment LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Rothschild Investment LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $64,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.0%

Apple stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $201.08. The stock had a trading volume of 73,093,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,477,308. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $202.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.39.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.