Cook Wealth Management Group LLC Sells 617 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cook Wealth Management Group LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,167 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 617 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.0% of Cook Wealth Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cook Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Holland Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holland Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,277 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 152,344 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,083,000 after purchasing an additional 6,340 shares during the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 33.0% in the third quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,458 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marion Wealth Management lifted its stake in Apple by 3.6% in the third quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 35,311 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.2 %

AAPL stock opened at $182.74 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $172.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.