Udine Wealth Management Inc. Has $14.27 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Udine Wealth Management Inc. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 83,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 10,453 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 10.3% of Udine Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Udine Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup cut their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.43.

Apple Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $227.57 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.27. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

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.