Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Blue Edge Capital LLC

Blue Edge Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,758 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,732 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.7% of Blue Edge Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Blue Edge Capital LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during 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 during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly 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 this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 180,178 shares of company stock valued at $36,133,537 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Cfra upped their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Raymond James 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, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.29.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $226.05 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $218.52 and a 200 day moving average of $193.13.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved 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 repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is 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.