Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Montchanin Asset Management LLC's Largest Position

Montchanin Asset Management LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,639 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,768 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 19.1% of Montchanin Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Montchanin Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $19,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $4.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $201.00. The company had a trading volume of 95,792,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,381,393. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.71. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.