Apple Inc. $AAPL is Hendley & Co. Inc.'s 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Hendley & Co. Inc. has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8%, now holding 68,597 shares, which represents about 5.3% of the firm's investment portfolio, making it Apple's 4th largest position.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Norges Bank, have recently increased their holdings in Apple, reflecting strong confidence in the company's performance.
• Apple's stock is currently trading at $227.76 with a market cap of $3.38 trillion, and the company reported an EPS of $1.57 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations.

Hendley & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,597 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,980 shares during the period. Apple makes up 5.3% of Hendley & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Hendley & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $15,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded up $2.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The company's fifty day moving average price is $212.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.