LPF Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

LPF Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 36.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,320 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,343 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.4% of LPF Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. LPF Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.95.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, reaching $210.01. 42,218,952 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,538,384. The company's 50-day moving average price is $203.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.13. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 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 company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.