Chickasaw Capital Management LLC Acquires 3,055 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,922 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,055 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.1% of Chickasaw Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $22,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $209.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $220.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $187.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.74. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company 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 firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 directly 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 is accessible through this link. In related 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 value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $216.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.06.

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.