Parkside Investments LLC Has $9.39 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Parkside Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 44.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,734 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 44,046 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.5% of Parkside Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Parkside Investments LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Apple Stock Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $216.75 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $192.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $220.20.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. DA Davidson upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

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.