Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,513 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 512 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.1% of Ascension Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. MKT Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. now owns 3,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Weik Capital Management raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Weik Capital Management now owns 25,238 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 26,125 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,572,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 57.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $125.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Fundamental Research set a $183.86 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.74.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total value of $9,261,412.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,766,188.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $175.16 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $176.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $164.84 and a 200-day moving average of $150.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.30%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Company Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.