Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lessened by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,231,172 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 110,336 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.6% of DAVENPORT & Co LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $272,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $4.2250 on Wednesday, reaching $226.3350. 21,412,486 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,531,371. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $210.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.60.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.