Neo Ivy Capital Management Trims Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Neo Ivy Capital Management lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 71.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,139 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,081 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.2% of Neo Ivy Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Neo Ivy Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the 4th 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 lifted its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth 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. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 100.6% during the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 83,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 70.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $10.35 on Friday, hitting $183.38. The company had a trading volume of 163,224,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,692,680. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $172.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62.

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 return on equity of 153.25% 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.00.

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.