Apple Inc. $AAPL is New Capital Management LP's 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• New Capital Management LP sold 4,210 shares of Apple Inc., reducing its position by 5.1%, and now holds a total of 78,411 shares, constituting 5.0% of its investment portfolio.
• Apple's quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share represents an annualized rate of $1.04, with a dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.
• Recent analyst reports have raised Apple's target prices, with UBS setting a new target of $220 and Morgan Stanley at $240, reflecting overall positive sentiment towards the stock.

New Capital Management LP cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,210 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.0% of New Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. New Capital Management LP's holdings in Apple were worth $17,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $2.86 on Friday, reaching $227.76. The company had a trading volume of 42,431,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $212.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the 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.