Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by MFA Wealth Services

MFA Wealth Services decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,790 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 951 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.2% of MFA Wealth Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. MFA Wealth Services’ holdings in Apple were worth $2,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

AAPL opened at $211.18 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.85.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $173.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.