Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 8,329 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 6.7%, selling 8,329 shares during the first quarter, and now holds 116,215 shares valued at approximately $25.8 million.
• Apple's stock saw a 0.9% increase during trading, reaching a price of $229.31, and has a market cap of $3.40 trillion.
• Analysts' ratings for Apple include two with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen with a Buy rating, and a current average price target of $237.98.

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,215 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 8,329 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.6% of Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $25,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 25,934.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after purchasing an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 23,555.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $2.50 on Thursday, hitting $232.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,569,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,837,367. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.16. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.05.

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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.37.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.