Chatham Capital Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,443 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,343 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.6% of Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagstone Financial Management increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,942,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $232.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $200.96 and its 200-day moving average is $186.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $233.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced 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 reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Melius Research boosted their price target on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Company 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.