St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Cuts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,097 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,844 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.9% of St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,677,190,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,360 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $221.55 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $221.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.60.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. 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 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. 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. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently 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.