Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC

Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,858 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,067 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 7.1% of Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $38,406,000. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $230.54 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.44. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $233.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.43.

Insider Transactions at Apple

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 transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.