William Howard & Co Financial Advisors Inc Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

William Howard & Co Financial Advisors Inc lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,817 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 232 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.6% of William Howard & Co Financial Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. William Howard & Co Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.60.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $233.33 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $208.49 and its 200 day moving average is $213.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.