RFG Advisory LLC Sells 1,386 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

RFG Advisory LLC cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 171,437 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,386 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.3% of RFG Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $33,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Arcus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the third quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,181 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,599,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 15,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 900.1% during the 3rd quarter. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC now owns 295,556 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $50,602,000 after purchasing an additional 266,003 shares in the last quarter. PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 10.9% in the third quarter. PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. now owns 36,478 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,245,000 after purchasing an additional 3,571 shares during the period. Finally, MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 2.5% in the third quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,486 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $183.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $172.15 and its 200 day moving average is $181.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.72.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.