Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 87.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,369,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 91,336,544 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 0.8% of UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.09% of Apple worth $2,969,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 28.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruWealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.8% in the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,045,000 after purchasing an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $234.07 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $221.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.20. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson raised Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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