Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Cut by Community Financial Services Group LLC

Community Financial Services Group LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,447 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,960 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 5.6% of Community Financial Services Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Community Financial Services Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $25,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.25.

Apple Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $10.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $213.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 102,898,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,348,797. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $205.58 and a 200-day moving average of $213.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend 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.