Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 8,469 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,631 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,469 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th 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. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its position in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Melius Research raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.71.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $3.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $224.90. 25,147,992 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 64,596,133. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $225.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $196.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

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

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.