IMZ Advisory Inc Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

IMZ Advisory Inc decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,732 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.6% of IMZ Advisory Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. IMZ Advisory Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,394,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 14,395.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Apple by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,677,190,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,360 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $221.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $195.26 and its 200 day moving average is $185.85. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $221.55.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for 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%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.71.

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.