Strid Group LLC Sells 1,103 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Strid Group LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,103 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 0.3% of Strid Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Strid Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 28.3% during the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the fourth 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 grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the first 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 grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $231.59. The stock had a trading volume of 56,003,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 63,552,584. The company has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $209.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.