US Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

US Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,392 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.1% of US Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. US Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. St. James Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 98.3% during the 4th quarter. St. James Investment Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its stake in Apple by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Finally, Sonnipe Ltd purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 15,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.56, for a total transaction of $2,753,216.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,445 shares in the company, valued at $24,363,619.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Raymond James increased their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Apple from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on Apple from $149.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.86.

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

AAPL opened at $178.61 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $124.17 and a one year high of $198.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The iPhone maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Apple had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 164.92%. The company had revenue of $81.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to buyback $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

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.