Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC

Key Points

• Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 26.6%, selling 2,240 shares to hold a total of 6,196 shares worth $1.376 million.
• A number of hedge funds increased their positions in Apple, with Sterling Investment Counsel LLC growing its holdings by 82.5%, now owning 67,925 shares valued at $15.088 million.
• Apple announced a $100 billion share repurchase plan, indicating the board's belief that the company's shares are undervalued, alongside raising its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.26 per share.

Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 26.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,196 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,240 shares during the period. Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Avid Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 28.3% during the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 2.8% during the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,045,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp grew its position in Apple by 3,368.2% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $2.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.05. 43,674,703 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $205.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price 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, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Apple Company 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.