IAM Advisory LLC Trims Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

IAM Advisory LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,866 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 472 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.1% of IAM Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. IAM Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson raised 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 research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $220.27 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $220.38. 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 capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $193.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.44.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $90.75 billion during 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%. Apple’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 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio 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 repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 sold a total of 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.