Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lessened by WestEnd Advisors LLC

WestEnd Advisors LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,244 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 9,296 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.1% of WestEnd Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $40,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Salus Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,992,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the 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 owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded down $2.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $230.73. The stock had a trading volume of 31,276,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,842,020. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $209.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.37.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given 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 was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 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.