Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lessened by Navalign LLC

Navalign LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,924 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 6.0% of Navalign LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Navalign LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth 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. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.6 %

AAPL stock opened at $210.62 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $220.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.25. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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 the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

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.