Seros Financial LLC Has $1.19 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Seros Financial LLC cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 556 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 0.9% of Seros Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Seros Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,097,000. F&V Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 63.5% in the first quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. Osprey Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 8.8% in the first quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,575 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 32.0% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 20,223 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,492,000 after acquiring an additional 4,904 shares during the period. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in Apple by 0.9% during the first quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 120,389 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

Apple stock opened at $209.11 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.45. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group set a $210.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays set a $173.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.27.

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.