Physicians Financial Services Inc. Has $40.94 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,655 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Apple comprises 15.5% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $40,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in 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 generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued 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 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.