Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Cut by Wayfinding Financial LLC

Wayfinding Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,699 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 616 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.7% of Wayfinding Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Wayfinding Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $224.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.13, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $211.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.13. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’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 value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.