Ignite Planners LLC Sells 45,978 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ignite Planners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 36.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 81,074 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 45,978 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.9% of Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Phoenix Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 31,866 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,456,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Greytown Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the third quarter. Greytown Advisors Inc. now owns 12,043 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 344,037 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $58,903,000 after purchasing an additional 39,385 shares in the last quarter. Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,424,000. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 673,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $115,284,000 after purchasing an additional 24,634 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $210.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $220.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

About Apple

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.