South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• South Dakota Investment Council has cut its position in Apple Inc. by 0.7%, now holding 855,859 shares, which represent 3.9% of its portfolio and make it the fund's 4th largest position.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Apple's stock, with a consensus price target now at $237.37 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 855,859 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,954 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.9% of South Dakota Investment Council's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Apple were worth $190,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $7.30 on Wednesday, reaching $237.02. 40,885,420 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,657,605. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $216.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.73.

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.