Marcum Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Marcum Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,932 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,718 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.5% of Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,981,000. Main Street Research LLC raised its position in Apple by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 330,777 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $56,632,000 after purchasing an additional 60,400 shares during the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 110,855 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,979,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd raised its position in Apple by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 40,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,934,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 167,322 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,647,000 after purchasing an additional 11,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following 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 the SEC website. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research upped their price target on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.83.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $208.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $220.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $188.57 and a 200 day moving average of $184.85.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 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 company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. 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.