Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Lowered by Birinyi Associates Inc.

Birinyi Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 344,033 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,840 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 23.7% of Birinyi Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Birinyi Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $86,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Apple by 25,285.2% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,411,260,000 after acquiring an additional 9,590,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $198.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,654,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,219,123. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $211.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.33. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

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.