E&G Advisors LP Sells 257 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

E&G Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.6% of E&G Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. E&G Advisors LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its stake in Apple by 24.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC raised its stake in Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.25.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $202.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.