Valmark Advisers Inc. Has $43.42 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Valmark Advisers Inc. has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 1.4%, selling 2,817 shares and holding 195,482 shares valued at approximately $43.4 million by the end of the last quarter.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26, which will be issued to investors of record on August 11th, with a dividend yield of 0.5%.
• Various analysts have maintained a positive outlook on Apple, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.25.

Valmark Advisers Inc. lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,817 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $43,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.25.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 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 Performance

Apple stock traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $203.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 74,983,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,129,035. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $205.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.50. The company has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.