Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 30.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,323 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,593 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $211.16 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average is $203.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. 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 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective 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 issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.27.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.