Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Wealth Management Associates Inc.

Wealth Management Associates Inc. decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 380 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 6.3% of Wealth Management Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Wealth Management Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,772,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 209.2% in the 1st quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $234.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. 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 fifty day moving average price is $221.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. 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 report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. HSBC set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, 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 at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is 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.