Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 54,639 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 561,672 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 54,639 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in Apple were worth $140,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday. Finally, China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.17.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $7.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $205.35. 100,891,435 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,192,627. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $212.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.61.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.