Darden Wealth Group Inc Sells 1,104 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Darden Wealth Group Inc reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,706 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,104 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 6.8% of Darden Wealth Group Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Darden Wealth Group Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.37.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

AAPL opened at $232.14 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.91. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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 $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company 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.