Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 8.2% in Q1, selling 1,674 shares, and now holds 18,821 shares valued at approximately $4.18 million.
• Apple's recent earnings report showed $1.65 EPS, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $95.36 billion, indicating a 5.1% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.26 per share and a share repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of up to $100 billion in stock.

ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,821 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,674 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 0.8% of ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.94.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $209.05. 43,674,703 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

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.