GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Sells 6,712 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,397 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,712 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.7% of GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $27,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.1%

Apple stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $210.02. 47,934,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,214,255. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.41.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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 usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $170.62 to $188.32 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.91.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.