MADDEN SECURITIES Corp Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,397 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,613 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.5% of MADDEN SECURITIES Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $207.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.27, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $187.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.81. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.38.

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.