Royal Harbor Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Royal Harbor Partners LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 4.5%, selling 1,218 shares, and now holds 26,012 shares valued at approximately $5.78 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Apple, with Norges Bank and GAMMA Investing LLC making substantial purchases in the last quarter.
• Analysts are optimistic about Apple, with multiple firms raising their price targets, and the stock maintaining a strong average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $237.60.

Royal Harbor Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,012 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,218 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.2% of Royal Harbor Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Royal Harbor Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $5,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $147,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The business's 50-day moving average price is $212.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.98.

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.