Solitude Financial Services Has $2.36 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Solitude Financial Services cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 64.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,757 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 25,126 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.1% of Solitude Financial Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Solitude Financial Services’ holdings in Apple were worth $2,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $169.30. 44,717,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,363,952. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $173.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.79. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Piper Sandler Companies lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. DA Davidson began coverage on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price for the company. DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.