Safeguard Financial LLC Has $3.34 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Safeguard Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,038 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 248 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.7% of Safeguard Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Safeguard Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $213.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.26 and a 200 day moving average of $219.14. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

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

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change 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 yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.95.

Apple Company 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.