NTV Asset Management LLC Sells 7,762 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• NTV Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.7%, now owning 127,640 shares valued at approximately $28 million.
• Apple's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.57 EPS and revenues of $94.04 billion, a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company initiated a share repurchase program to buy back $100 billion worth of shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

NTV Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 127,640 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,762 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.8% of NTV Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. NTV Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $28,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,045,000 after purchasing an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $113,062,000 after purchasing an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank lowered Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.37.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $232.99. The company had a trading volume of 20,569,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,837,367. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $214.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.