Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 24.9% during Q1, selling 309,348 shares and holding 932,266 shares afterwards.
• Apple reported a Q3 EPS of $1.57, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, equating to an annualized payout of $1.04 and a dividend yield of 0.4%.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 932,266 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 309,348 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.5% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $207,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $237.88 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.35. The company has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $238.99.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

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