Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Cut by Clarity Financial LLC

Clarity Financial LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,707 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,308 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.0% of Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elk River Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 167,122 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $29,181,000 after buying an additional 54,989 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 47,546 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,302,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Fountainhead AM LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 45,544 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,732,000 after acquiring an additional 4,738 shares during the period. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,282,000. Finally, Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,588,000. 57.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Apple stock opened at $147.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.04 and a twelve month high of $182.94. The company has a market cap of $2.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $143.79 and its 200 day moving average is $159.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $97.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 152.88%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 9th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 6th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.94%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $90.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 8th. Deutsche Bank Rese… set a $210.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, April 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, April 29th. Barclays set a $167.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 7th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $169.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, April 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.83.

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 25,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.72, for a total value of $4,043,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 452,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,151,454.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.91, for a total transaction of $1,319,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,290 shares in the company, valued at $22,475,583.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Profile (Get Rating)

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. It also sells various related services. In addition, the company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; AirPods Max, an over-ear wireless headphone; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, HomePod, and iPod touch.

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