Buffington Mohr McNeal Has $11.92 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Buffington Mohr McNeal reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 12.5%, holding 53,639 shares after selling 7,681 shares in the first quarter.
• Apple reported $1.57 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and had a revenue of $94.04 billion, up 9.6% from the previous year.
• The company has approved a $100 billion stock buyback program, which reflects management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

Buffington Mohr McNeal cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,639 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,681 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.3% of Buffington Mohr McNeal's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Buffington Mohr McNeal's holdings in Apple were worth $11,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.98.

Apple Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $3.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $228.41. The stock had a trading volume of 24,751,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,281,676. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $211.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.13. The company has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.