Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Reduced by Palisade Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Palisade Capital Management LP has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 2.9%, making the company its 6th largest holding, now comprising approximately 1.5% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on Apple, with firms like Goldman Sachs and Wedbush reaffirming "buy" ratings and setting price targets ranging from $240.00 to $270.00.
• Apple announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share and initiated a buyback program allowing $100 billion in stock repurchases, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Palisade Capital Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 237,266 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,162 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.5% of Palisade Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Palisade Capital Management LP's holdings in Apple were worth $52,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $227.76. The stock had a trading volume of 42,431,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $212.52 and a 200 day moving average of $212.96. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

About Apple

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.