Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,742 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,686 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.8% of Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $20,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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 on Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 3.8%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $238.47 on Thursday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $217.73 and its 200 day moving average is $212.92. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released 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 return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.73.

Apple 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.