Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is MFA Wealth Services’ 8th Largest Position

MFA Wealth Services lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,790 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 951 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.2% of MFA Wealth Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. MFA Wealth Services’ holdings in Apple were worth $2,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.0% in the first quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc now owns 17,795 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,929,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.7% in the first quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 22,612 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,023,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Dover Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 45.1% in the first quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 78,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,446,000 after acquiring an additional 24,403 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 33,247 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,385,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avaii Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.9% during the first quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,824,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. The trade was 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 Up 0.6%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $211.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $204.57 and its 200-day moving average is $215.85.

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

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.11.

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.