Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lessened by Silicon Valley Capital Partners

Key Points

• Silicon Valley Capital Partners reduced its stake in Apple by 9.5%, owning 221,058 shares valued at approximately $48.17 million, making Apple its fourth biggest holding.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group, Geode Capital Management, and UBS AM, have increased their positions in Apple, reflecting ongoing interest in the stock.
• Despite mixed analyst ratings, Apple's stock remains a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $240.80, while the company recently reported a revenue increase and a solid earnings per share of $1.57.

Silicon Valley Capital Partners lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 221,058 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 23,296 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 6.3% of Silicon Valley Capital Partners' holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Silicon Valley Capital Partners' holdings in Apple were worth $48,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after acquiring an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14.3% during 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 valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.80.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company'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 directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

AAPL stock opened at $236.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.99. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.