Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Retirement Financial Solutions LLC

Retirement Financial Solutions LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,411 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,233 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 0.5% of Retirement Financial Solutions LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its position in Apple by 23,076.4% during the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,815,594,000 after buying an additional 5,331,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $221.27 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.37. The company has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 180,178 shares of company stock worth $36,133,537 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Barclays cut their target price on Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Cfra increased their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.29.

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.