New Perspectives Inc Sells 230 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

New Perspectives Inc lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,475 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.5% of New Perspectives Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. New Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $147,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $231.59 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $209.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple 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.