Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,214 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,214 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.5% of Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in 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 worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were 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 owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $227.82 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $227.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.41.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $196.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, July 1st. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 6th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.