MGO Private Wealth LLC Sells 1,861 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• MGO Private Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 8.0%, maintaining its position as the 9th largest stake in the firm's portfolio, which is valued at approximately $4.77 million.
• Apple's Board of Directors has authorized a $100 billion share buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, and a recent dividend increase was announced, raising the payout from $0.25 to $0.26 per share.
• Apple's stock currently has a Moderate Buy consensus rating from analysts, with a target price of approximately $234.94 and several investment firms offering varying recommendations on its stock performance.

MGO Private Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,461 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,861 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.4% of MGO Private Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. MGO Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 127,676 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,361,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Apple by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 29,684 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,602 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,353,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its stake in Apple by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 4,658 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 25,048 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $1.53 on Tuesday, reaching $212.52. 11,262,509 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,283,719. The company has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $204.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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