Next Century Growth Investors LLC Sells 11,223 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Next Century Growth Investors LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,223 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.2% of Next Century Growth Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Next Century Growth Investors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Avid Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,772,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruWealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,045,000 after purchasing an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $230.03 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $221.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Phillip Securities restated a “reduce” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell 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 $240.80.

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.