Tucker Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Tucker Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 417 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 0.8% of Tucker Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Tucker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 0.8 %

AAPL stock opened at $212.49 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $220.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.01.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. DA Davidson raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.47.

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.