Marshall Financial Group LLC Sells 842 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Marshall Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 842 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.8% of Marshall Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.27.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $210.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple 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.