Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $3.53 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Apple by selling 1,761 shares, bringing their total holdings to 15,910 shares, which now makes up 1.7% of their portfolio.
• Apple reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, exceeding expectations of $1.43, with revenue of $94.04 billion, representing a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $100 billion stock buyback program, reflecting confidence in its stock value, alongside announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,761 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.7% of Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $3,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.25.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $5.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $202.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 97,423,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 172.48%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.