Seelaus Asset Management LLC Sells 750 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Seelaus Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,376 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.1% of Seelaus Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Seelaus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $132,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 target price (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Up 0.4 %

AAPL stock opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $172.17 and its 200 day moving average is $181.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. 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 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

About Apple

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.