Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by LifeSteps Financial Inc.

Key Points

• LifeSteps Financial Inc. reduced its Apple shares by 9.0% to own 31,179 shares after selling 3,101 shares, making it the fund's third-largest position.
• An insider, Chris Kondo, sold 4,486 shares at an average price of $208.19, resulting in a 22.41% decrease in their ownership.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating on Apple, with price targets ranging from $173.00 to $240.00, depending on the firm issuing the rating.

LifeSteps Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,179 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,101 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.6% of LifeSteps Financial Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. LifeSteps Financial Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $6,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the 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 represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $9.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $229.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 113,661,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,719,256. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $206.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.