MSA Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

MSA Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 25.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 107,690 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 21,824 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 6.1% of MSA Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. MSA Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $23,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $230.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $210.83 and a 200-day moving average of $213.06. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.60.

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.

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