Prospect Financial Services LLC Has $11.80 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Prospect Financial Services LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,099 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,377 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 6.5% of Prospect Financial Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Prospect Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $213.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.86. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.95.

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.