Hobart Private Capital LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hobart Private Capital LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,154 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% in 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 during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its position in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its position in Apple by 657.1% in 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 buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.71.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $220.27 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.44. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $220.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.