Modera Wealth Management LLC Sells 43,672 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Modera Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 769,372 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 43,672 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.3% of Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $195,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lifted its position in Apple by 1.2% in the first quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 28,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,154,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Advisortrust Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 29,615 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,516,000 after buying an additional 2,369 shares during the period. Morling Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC now owns 39,019 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,903,000 after buying an additional 824 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,983,516 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $757,186,000 after buying an additional 74,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NovaPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 59,675 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,145,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $308.91 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $344.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $309.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.60.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record June-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and diluted EPS of $2.02, exceeding Wall Street expectations. iPhone revenue rose 22% to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue increased 29% to $10.4 billion. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s large installed base, strong hardware demand and potential consumer-AI opportunities remain long-term supports. Some analysts remain bullish: TD Cowen raised its price target to $400, while other firms maintained Buy or Overweight ratings despite trimming estimates. Analyst raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable August 13 to shareholders of record August 10. Apple also continues to emphasize an AI strategy that requires less capital spending than the infrastructure-heavy approach used by some peers. Apple Q3 financial results

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.