Financial Enhancement Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Enhancement Group LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,018 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.7% of Financial Enhancement Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Financial Enhancement Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in Apple by 20.0% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $456,728,000 after buying an additional 435,891 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Markel Corp grew its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $210,752,000 after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares during the last quarter. Camden Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 9.2% in the first quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,305,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,629,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 58.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $176.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $185.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.17 and a fifty-two week high of $198.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The iPhone maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $81.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.79 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.92% and a net margin of 24.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $149.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 15,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.56, for a total value of $2,753,216.64. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,363,619.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.