Apple Inc. $AAPL is Plato Investment Management Ltd's Largest Position

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) position by 10.4%, selling 39,539 shares and now holding 341,838 shares, representing about 6.5% of its investment portfolio.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.57 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a total revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% year-over-year growth.
• The company recently declared a dividend of $0.26 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.4%, with a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Plato Investment Management Ltd lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 341,838 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 39,539 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 6.5% of Plato Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $76,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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 owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $4.04 on Friday, hitting $234.07. The stock had a trading volume of 55,768,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,223,864. The business's fifty day moving average is $221.50 and its 200 day moving average is $212.20. The company has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 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 (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $240.80.

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.