Morling Financial Advisors LLC Sells 143 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Morling Financial Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,315 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 6.9% of Morling Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Morling Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $189.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $175.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 371,270 shares of company stock valued at $64,605,696 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.44.

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.