Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Decreased by Hoertkorn Richard Charles

Hoertkorn Richard Charles lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 99,122 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 17,151 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 10.2% of Hoertkorn Richard Charles' portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Hoertkorn Richard Charles' holdings in Apple were worth $22,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,992,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $232.91. 37,584,287 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,933,523. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $208.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.35. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.