Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Reduced by Childress Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Childress Capital Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 3.7%, now owning 50,190 shares, which makes Apple their 6th largest position at approximately 3.2% of their investment portfolio.
• Apple reported a quarterly EPS of $1.65, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.62, and had a revenue of $95.36 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 5.1%.
• The company's Board of Directors has authorized a significant $100 billion share repurchase plan, allowing Apple to buy back up to 3.1% of its shares if deemed undervalued.

Childress Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,912 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.2% of Childress Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Childress Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $11,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $5.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $202.38. The stock had a trading volume of 97,423,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's fifty day moving average is $205.22 and its 200 day moving average is $213.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 172.48% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.25.

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.