Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC’s Largest Position

AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,098 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,930 shares during the period. Apple makes up 7.3% of AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $17,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares during the last quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $1,041,000. Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in Apple by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 483,841 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,154,000 after buying an additional 16,237 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 14,979 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,884,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $8,492,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm’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 business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.