Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,408,738 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 48,494 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 10.4% of Avanza Fonder AB's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Apple were worth $315,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.27.

Apple Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $211.16. 39,713,698 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,348,025. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple 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.