Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Walker Asset Management LLC

Walker Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,588 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 328 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.6% of Walker Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Walker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC now owns 11,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 287,242 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,256,000 after buying an additional 3,118 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the first quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 293,179 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $50,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 66.6% in the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 31,446 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,392,000 after acquiring an additional 12,568 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in Apple by 80.5% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 102,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,575,000 after acquiring an additional 45,701 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value 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 $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $207.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $187.87 and its 200 day moving average is $184.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.27, a PEG ratio of 2.55 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 company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.38.

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.