Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Has $30.10 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,488 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 23,144 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.1% of Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $30,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 8.4% during the first quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 663,055 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $147,284,000 after buying an additional 51,527 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 10.7% during the first quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,757 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,942,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares during the last quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC now owns 50,213 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,154,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth $408,000. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 154,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,320,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Apple Stock Down 2.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $226.01 on Thursday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $211.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.15. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.