Avion Wealth Has $2.64 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Avion Wealth reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,691 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,683 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 0.7% of Avion Wealth’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Avion Wealth’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp raised its stake in Apple by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $183.38 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.67. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup cut their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Company 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.