Motive Wealth Advisors Sells 801 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Motive Wealth Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,402 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 801 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.7% of Motive Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Motive Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $3,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $211.18 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $204.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.11.

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.