Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Values Added Financial LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Values Added Financial LLC cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,634 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,603 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.4% of Values Added Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Values Added Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation raised its stake in Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.2% in the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $176.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.15. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.42 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies lowered Apple to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 253,915 shares of company stock worth $44,202,868. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.