Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Academy Capital Management

Academy Capital Management decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 343,006 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 14.0% of Academy Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Academy Capital Management's holdings in Apple were worth $85,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $211.45. 43,910,127 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,930,688. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Argus upgraded Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Maxim Group increased their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.