Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 10.3%, selling 31,474 shares and holding approximately 273,790 shares, valued at $60.8 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Apple, with target prices ranging from $180 to $290, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on recent reports.
• Apple's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.57 EPS and $94.04 billion in revenue, alongside the announcement of a $100 billion share repurchase program.

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 273,790 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 31,474 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.9% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $60,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company'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 owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $3.6140 during trading on Friday, reaching $228.5140. 8,878,163 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,177,738. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $211.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Apple

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.