RFG Advisory LLC Sells 1,827 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

RFG Advisory LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,610 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,827 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.0% of RFG Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 176,876 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $30,283,000 after buying an additional 22,428 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in Apple by 5.9% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 137,396 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,523,000 after acquiring an additional 7,706 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,942,735 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $332,616,000 after acquiring an additional 20,478 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 176,570 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $30,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,745 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,257,000 after purchasing an additional 12,471 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $209.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $189.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.94. 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 market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.51, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 shares were 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 directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Melius Research boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.46.

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.