Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is SOA Wealth Advisors LLC.'s 2nd Largest Position

SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,180 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 11.0% of SOA Wealth Advisors LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Apple were worth $59,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $160,000. Finally, Independence Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $2.48 on Monday, hitting $208.78. 45,304,005 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,957,701. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $205.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 target price (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.