Davidson Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,247 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Davidson Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Apple by 15.1% during Q1, holding now 12,673 shares worth approximately $2.82 million.
• Apple's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting a revenue of $95.36 billion and earnings per share of $1.65, which surpassed the consensus estimate of $1.62.
• The company has initiated a significant $100 billion stock buyback program, indicating its board believes the stock is undervalued.

Davidson Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,673 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,247 shares during the quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $2,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,992,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,794,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Apple stock traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $212.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,429,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,283,719. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change 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 was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Barclays set a $173.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.