Busey Wealth Management reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,161,806 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 39,978 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 8.1% of Busey Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Busey Wealth Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $202,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elk River Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 49.0% during the first quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 167,122 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $29,181,000 after acquiring an additional 54,989 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its holdings in Apple by 1.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 11.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $4,282,000. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 3.3% during the first quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 96,983 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,934,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares in the last quarter. 57.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.72, for a total transaction of $4,043,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 452,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,151,454.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Apple Stock Up 1.1 %
Shares of AAPL opened at $150.17 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.04 and a 52 week high of $182.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.54 and a 200-day moving average of $158.69.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $97.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.88% and a net margin of 26.41%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 28th that allows the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 6th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.94%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 25th. Deutsche Bank Rese… set a $210.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, April 8th. StockNews.com began coverage on Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on Apple from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, April 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.49.
About Apple
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.
Further Reading
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