Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Decreases Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Van Cleef Asset Management Inc reduced its Apple holdings by 3.2%, making Apple its 2nd largest position, accounting for 11.0% of its total investments.
• Apple's stock saw analysts raise their target prices, with projections ranging from $220.00 to $270.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook from investment firms.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, and has authorized a share repurchase program of up to $100 billion, suggesting management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 437,416 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 14,584 shares during the period. Apple comprises 11.0% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $97,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Alpha Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,591 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Topsail Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.8% in the first quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the first quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,701 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,932,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Slagle Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the first quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 48,901 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,862,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs boosted its position in shares of Apple by 9.3% during the first quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs now owns 17,964 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,990,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Scotiabank lowered Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.37.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $232.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,382,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,935,340. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.08.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.