Libra Wealth LLC Reduces Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Libra Wealth LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,080 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,422 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.1% of Libra Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Libra Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $231.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $209.69 and a 200-day moving average of $213.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.60.

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.