ABLE Financial Group LLC Has $9.91 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

ABLE Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,608 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 2.8% of ABLE Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. ABLE Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position 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 grew its position 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 grew its position 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 lifted 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 acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $231.59 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.14. 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 released 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.