Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA

LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,215 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 323 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA’s holdings in Apple were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $147,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AAPL opened at $231.59 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $209.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.97. 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 cap of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.