Core Alternative Capital Has $23.18 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Core Alternative Capital reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 11.8% in Q1, now holding 104,353 shares worth approximately $23.18 million, making it the fund's largest position.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Norges Bank, have increased their positions in Apple, highlighting strong interest among major investors.
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share with a payout ratio of 15.78%, showing ongoing financial strength with a market cap of $3.38 trillion.

Core Alternative Capital cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,353 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 13,946 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.6% of Core Alternative Capital's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Core Alternative Capital's holdings in Apple were worth $23,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

AAPL traded up $2.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,431,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $212.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.98.

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.