Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Holdings Reduced by Davidson Investment Advisors

Key Points

• Davidson Investment Advisors reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 4.9%, holding 362,846 shares worth approximately $80.60 million, making Apple its 3rd largest position.
• Apple's stock increased by 0.9% to $229.31, while the company reported a significant quarterly revenue of $94.04 billion, exceeding analyst estimates.
• The Board of Directors authorized a $100 billion share repurchase plan, indicating confidence that Apple's shares are undervalued, alongside a recent quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Davidson Investment Advisors lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 362,846 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 18,856 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.0% of Davidson Investment Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $80,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Apple by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 95,727 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $21,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,515 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,552,000 after purchasing an additional 7,383 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,222 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Planning Directions Inc. now owns 43,975 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $9,768,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Management Associates Inc increased its stake in Apple by 70.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc now owns 60,545 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,449,000 after purchasing an additional 24,939 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.37.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Up 1.1%

AAPL stock traded up $2.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $232.99. 20,569,050 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,837,367. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $214.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.05.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is 15.78%.

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

About Apple

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.