FSR Wealth Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• FSR Wealth Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 35.1% in the first quarter, leaving it with 3,245 shares valued at approximately $721,000.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Apple, including Vanguard Group, which raised its position by 3.7%, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Apple's most recent earnings report showed a 9.6% increase in revenue year-over-year to $94.04 billion, with earnings per share of $1.57, surpassing expectations.

FSR Wealth Management Ltd. lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 35.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,245 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,757 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.0% of FSR Wealth Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. FSR Wealth Management Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Apple by 25,934.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.7%

AAPL stock traded down $1.5190 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $224.4910. 17,095,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,413,074. 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 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $211.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.15. The company has a market cap of $3.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued 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 (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

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.