Chickasaw Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 130,917 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,005 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.2% of Chickasaw Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter worth about $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 168.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 268 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.1 %

AAPL opened at $227.18 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $220.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.23. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Loop Capital raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.63.

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.