Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by CIC Wealth LLC

CIC Wealth LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,875 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,842 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 6.8% of CIC Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. CIC Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation grew its holdings in Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $220.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $220.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $196.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.