Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.

Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,971 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,313 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 6.4% of Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Berkshire Money Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Berkshire Money Management Inc. now owns 23,268 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,169,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Balance Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,329,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,734,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 113.3% during the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 113,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,143,000 after buying an additional 60,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $213.12 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $205.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.25.

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.