Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Cut by Bensler LLC

Bensler LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 580 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.0% of Bensler LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 16,252.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 6,949,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 21.7% in the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $165.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $174.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.04. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.80 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.