Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Veracity Capital LLC

Veracity Capital LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,894 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,279 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.0% of Veracity Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Veracity Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Thursday, reaching $213.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,955,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,618,682. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.40. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.95.

Apple 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.