Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Reduced by Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA

Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 479,722 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,169 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 6.7% of Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA's holdings in Apple were worth $106,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company'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 transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $230.11. 19,336,211 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,990,016. The company's 50-day moving average is $213.77 and its 200 day moving average is $212.93. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 company 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 earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.37.

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.