High Falls Advisors Inc Sells 1,461 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

High Falls Advisors Inc lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,317 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,461 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.3% of High Falls Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. High Falls Advisors Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $225.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $219.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.40. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Cfra boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, July 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.63.

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.