Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Holdings Lessened by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,231,172 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 110,336 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.6% of DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $272,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Apple

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

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $231.59 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $209.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.97. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.