Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,911,850 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 972,236 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.2% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.07% of Apple worth $2,140,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.01.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.9%

AAPL opened at $229.31 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $213.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.93. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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