Almanack Investment Partners LLC. Sells 1,952 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Almanack Investment Partners LLC. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,673 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,952 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.0% of Almanack Investment Partners LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Almanack Investment Partners LLC.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

AAPL opened at $229.65 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $207.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.21. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.60.

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.