Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Decreased by Fermata Advisors LLC

Fermata Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,530 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,286 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.8% of Fermata Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,766 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 426,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $73,041,000 after buying an additional 6,283 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 34.1% in the third quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 24,286 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after buying an additional 6,173 shares in the last quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 128,363 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,977,000 after acquiring an additional 8,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hedeker Wealth LLC lifted its position in Apple by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 75,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,917,000 after acquiring an additional 5,179 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $210.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.31. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 247,087 shares of company stock valued at $44,016,111 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Melius Research boosted their price target on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $196.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

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.