G&S Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

G&S Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.7% of G&S Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. G&S Capital LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares in the last quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $1,041,000. Sandy Spring Bank raised its stake in Apple by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 483,841 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $93,154,000 after buying an additional 16,237 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 14,979 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,884,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,492,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Redburn Partners downgraded shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.78. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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 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 is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

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 value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.