First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 11,257 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• First Horizon Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 3.3%, owning 324,979 shares after selling 11,257 during the first quarter, with Apple constituting about 2.0% of its portfolio.
• Apple’s quarterly earnings reported $1.57 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.43, with revenue growing 9.6% year-over-year to $94.04 billion.
• The company announced a $100 billion stock repurchase program, indicating confidence in its shares’ value and reflecting a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 324,979 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 11,257 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.0% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $72,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital lowered 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.98.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $212.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.09. 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 fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.