Liberty Wealth Management LLC Has $29.23 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Liberty Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 116,709 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,740 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.9% of Liberty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Liberty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 2.3%

AAPL stock opened at $202.09 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, May 5th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.