Claris Advisors LLC MO Decreases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Claris Advisors LLC MO decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,600 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,945 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.9% of Claris Advisors LLC MO's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Claris Advisors LLC MO's holdings in Apple were worth $2,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $215.00. The stock had a trading volume of 26,462,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,728,691. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $204.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.18. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.11.

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.