Shore Point Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Shore Point Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 47.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,835 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,515 shares during the quarter. Shore Point Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

Apple stock traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $229.65. 55,616,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,993,859. The business has a fifty day moving average of $207.35 and a 200 day moving average of $213.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. 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 is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Apple Company 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.