Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Reduced by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Sawgrass Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.9%, now holding 205,312 shares valued at approximately $45.61 million, making Apple its second-largest holding.
• Apple reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 9.6% year-over-year revenue growth to $94.04 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.5%, and plans to repurchase up to $100 billion in shares.

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 205,312 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 12,798 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.6% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $45,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Apple Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $203.35. 74,983,799 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,129,035. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The business's 50-day moving average is $205.37 and its 200-day moving average is $213.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.