Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,194 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 12,320 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.2% of Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $230.49 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $214.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.37.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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.