Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. Lowers Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,220 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 489 shares during the period. Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.94.

Apple Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $211.27 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $204.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.