Evanson Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Evanson Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 424,938 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 864 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.7% of Evanson Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Evanson Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $72,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% during the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 247,087 shares of company stock worth $44,016,111 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $210.62 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $192.13 and its 200 day moving average is $185.31. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $220.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.25.

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 analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Melius Research increased their target price on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price objective on Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

About Apple

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.