Golden State Equity Partners Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Golden State Equity Partners has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 13.2%, now owning 101,547 shares worth approximately $22.56 million.
• Apple's Board of Directors approved a $100 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the company's stock value.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.5%, due to be paid on August 14th.

Golden State Equity Partners lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,547 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 15,394 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.5% of Golden State Equity Partners' portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Golden State Equity Partners' holdings in Apple were worth $22,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Apple by 25,934.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after acquiring an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 23,555.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $6.78 on Thursday, reaching $220.03. 88,530,516 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,598,227. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $205.84 and a 200-day moving average of $213.24. The company has a market cap of $3.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.