Mayport LLC Decreases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Mayport LLC lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,127 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.8% of Mayport LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Mayport LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in Apple by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. increased its position in Apple by 27.7% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $182.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $172.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.78. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.11.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.