Apple Inc. $AAPL is American Capital Advisory LLC's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• American Capital Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.1%, owning 23,712 shares post-sale, which accounts for 2.8% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported strong earnings with $1.57 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and a revenue of $94.04 billion, up 9.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $100 billion buyback plan, indicating the board's belief that Apple stock is currently undervalued.

American Capital Advisory LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,712 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,277 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.8% of American Capital Advisory LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. American Capital Advisory LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $5,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 25,934.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after purchasing an additional 59,835,676 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $1.5190 on Thursday, reaching $224.4910. The company had a trading volume of 17,095,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,413,074. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $211.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.15. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

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

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

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.