Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by JFS Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• JFS Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its Apple Inc. position by 11.2%, selling 15,393 shares, resulting in ownership of 121,821 shares valued at approximately $27 million.
• Apple reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $94.04 billion, showing a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company has authorized a $100 billion share repurchase program, signaling management’s belief that the stock is undervalued.

JFS Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,821 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 15,393 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.8% of JFS Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $27,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.25.

Apple Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $203.35. 74,983,799 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,129,035. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.