Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Modus Advisors LLC

Modus Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 49,487 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,008 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.1% of Modus Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Modus Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $214.29 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $220.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Apple

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.