Carret Asset Management LLC Has $66.13 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Carret Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 343,486 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,519 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 8.4% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $66,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation grew its holdings in Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 371,270 shares of company stock valued at $64,605,696 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $189.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $175.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.04. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share 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 net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 price target (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.44.

Apple 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.