Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Sells 19,254 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Blueprint Investment Partners LLC has reduced its Apple Inc. holdings by 24.1%, now owning 60,646 shares after the sale of 19,254 shares.
• A number of institutional investors, including Biltmore Family Office LLC and MSA Advisors LLC, have adjusted their positions in Apple, with some increasing their holdings significantly in the first quarter.
• Apple recently reported earnings per share of $1.57 for the quarter, exceeding expectations, and offered a quarterly dividend of $0.26, representing an annual yield of 0.4%.

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 24.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,646 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 19,254 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.5% of Blueprint Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $13,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 763,563 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $169,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares in the last quarter. MSA Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. MSA Advisors LLC now owns 107,690 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $23,921,000 after purchasing an additional 21,824 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 66,871,300 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,854,122,000 after purchasing an additional 967,336 shares in the last quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,770 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $14,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $238.99.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $237.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $219.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.35. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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.

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