Buckhead Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Buckhead Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 58,028 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 784 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.6% of Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. G&S Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 17,678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,427,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the period. Castellan Group lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Castellan Group now owns 5,974 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morris Financial Concepts Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 7,788 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.85.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $196.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $220.36 and its 200-day moving average is $230.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.