Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Scott & Selber Inc.’s Largest Position

Scott & Selber Inc. lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,056 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,015 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 8.6% of Scott & Selber Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $28,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $212.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $207.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson increased their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank lowered Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.