Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Boosted by MFA Wealth Advisors LLC

MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,113 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.0% of MFA Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $8,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. LifeWealth Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 56.4% in the first quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 38,515 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,555,000 after acquiring an additional 13,888 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in the first quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 30,530 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares during the last quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.3% in the first quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 31,150 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,919,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 44,474 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $9,879,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden Road Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 22.3% in the first quarter. Golden Road Advisors LLC now owns 9,994 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $214.05. 37,786,671 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,818,408. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The business's fifty day moving average price is $204.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. 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 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.