Toth Financial Advisory Corp Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Toth Financial Advisory Corp lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,226 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.4% of Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $17,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family CFO Inc grew its holdings in Apple by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 950 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 6.0 %

Apple stock opened at $183.38 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $172.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 14.93%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.