PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. Sells 564 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,599 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 564 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.5% of PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% during 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 in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its stake 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 valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 quarter, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $207.49 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.75. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $220.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. 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 announced its quarterly 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. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.38.

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.