Linscomb Wealth Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Linscomb Wealth Inc. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 153,568 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,265 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.9% of Linscomb Wealth Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Linscomb Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $38,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,050 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,309,000 after buying an additional 13,472 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,300 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,089,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC grew its position in Apple by 9.9% during the third quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 534,795 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $124,607,000 after acquiring an additional 48,327 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Apple by 5.0% during the third quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,595 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 12.8% during the third quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,005 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,030,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $196.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $209.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.

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