PFS Partners LLC Sells 371 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

PFS Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,050 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 371 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.2% of PFS Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. PFS Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headinvest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Apple by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,461,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 4,307,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $829,240,000 after purchasing an additional 279,311 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management increased its holdings in Apple by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 37,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,158,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 673,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $115,284,000 after buying an additional 24,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $172.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.78. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

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.