Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Sawyer & Company Inc’s Largest Position

Sawyer & Company Inc lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,973 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,815 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.7% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $211.27 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $204.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.94.

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.