Alta Wealth Advisors LLC Has $7.73 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Alta Wealth Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 8.7%, now holding 34,794 shares valued at approximately $7.73 million.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with a payout ratio of 15.78% and a planned stock buyback program worth $100 billion.
• Analysts have given Apple a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $237.60, following better-than-expected earnings and revenue results.

Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,324 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.5% of Alta Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned 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 $237.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.4%

AAPL stock traded up $3.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $232.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,427,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,797,887. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The business's 50 day moving average price is $207.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.21. The company has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.