Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 9.5%, now holding 234,306 shares valued at approximately $49.5 million, making it the firm's 6th largest investment.
• Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple’s stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Apple recently reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 9.6% year-over-year revenue increase to $94.04 billion.

Diversify Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 234,306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 24,517 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.1% of Diversify Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $49,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JMG Financial Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,330 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.2% during the first quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 9,229 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 65.1% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 973,700 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $216,288,000 after buying an additional 384,000 shares in the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 75,008 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,661,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JDH Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. JDH Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,885 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,418,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.37.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $232.14. The company had a trading volume of 39,382,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,935,340. The company has a fifty day moving average of $215.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 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.