Argyle Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,536 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Robinson Value Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 75.4% during the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its holdings in Apple by 21.7% during the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Align Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. 57.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $175.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $176.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $164.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.62. The company has a market cap of $2.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This is a positive change 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%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.30%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,253,004.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of Apple 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,483.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Raymond James reduced their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Fundamental Research set a $183.86 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.74.

Apple Profile

(Get Rating)

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.