Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Key Points

• Simmons Bank reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 1.6% during the first quarter, now owning 130,116 shares valued at approximately $28.9 million, making it the bank's 6th largest holding.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 9.6% revenue growth year-over-year, totaling $94.04 billion.
• The company has initiated a $100 billion share buyback plan as part of its strategy to enhance shareholder value, indicating confidence in its stock's valuation.

Simmons Bank decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,116 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,089 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.2% of Simmons Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Simmons Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $28,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,782,169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $395,873,000 after acquiring an additional 7,874 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 24.0% in the first quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 12,022 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $58,000. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 615,532 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,728,000 after acquiring an additional 9,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 7.8% in the first quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 67,511 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,891 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.86 on Friday, hitting $227.76. The stock had a trading volume of 42,431,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $212.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.98.

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.