Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Reduces Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,243 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,075 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.8% of Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 784,520 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,318,000 after buying an additional 46,216 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 143,501 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $24,569,000 after buying an additional 5,981 shares during the last quarter. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,407 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,685,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Polaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 322,877 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $55,280,000 after buying an additional 140,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,813 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $169.02 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.80 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $173.58 and a 200 day moving average of $181.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 25th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price target on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.05.

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.