Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Financial Enhancement Group LLC

Financial Enhancement Group LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,145 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,035 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.4% of Financial Enhancement Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Financial Enhancement Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its position in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its position in Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $220.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $220.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $193.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.44.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $196.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.