Waterford Advisors LLC Sells 96 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Waterford Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 0.6% of Waterford Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Waterford Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its position in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its position in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Apple from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.63.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

Apple stock opened at $225.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share 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 reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387 over the last ninety days. 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.