Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,453 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 735 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 9.3% of Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $22,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Apple by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $456,728,000 after acquiring an additional 435,891 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Markel Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $210,752,000 after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares during the last quarter. Camden Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,305,000 after purchasing an additional 13,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $23,629,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $168.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.80 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $175.57 and its 200-day moving average is $182.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Redburn Partners lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.34.

Apple Company 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.