Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Sells 1,422 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 1.7%, owning 80,907 shares valued at approximately $17.97 million.
• Apple has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, an increase from the previous $0.25, and has also authorized a $100 billion stock buyback program.
• Analyst ratings for Apple are mixed, with two sell ratings, twelve hold ratings, and fifteen buy ratings, indicating a general average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 80,907 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,422 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 7.5% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $17,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Link Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 23.5% in the first quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.1% during the first quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 32,532 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,226,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Siligmueller & Norvid Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.4% during the first quarter. Siligmueller & Norvid Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 31,237 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,939,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $208.82. 13,029,085 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,191,012. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $205.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

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

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.