Conway Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Conway Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,123 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,632 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 16.9% of Conway Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Conway Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $33,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.39 during trading on Thursday, hitting $213.76. 45,923,891 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,703,220. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents 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 the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.