American Capital Advisory LLC Sells 1,277 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

American Capital Advisory LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,712 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,277 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.8% of American Capital Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. American Capital Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $230.89 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released 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. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding 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 board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by 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.