Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Decreases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,607 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,094 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.7% of Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX’s holdings in Apple were worth $20,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.0 %

Apple stock opened at $226.84 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $220.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.