Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Lowered by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 922,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 49,633 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 8.2% of Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $231,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

AAPL stock opened at $199.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $201.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.37. The company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.86.

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.