Paragon Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Paragon Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,930 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,681 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 12.2% of Paragon Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Paragon Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $22,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $24,566,054,000 after buying an additional 3,156,680 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $21,335,435,000 after buying an additional 1,742,087 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.85 on Monday, hitting $201.70. 35,293,010 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,144,940. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $203.10 and a 200-day moving average of $225.00. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. TD Cowen cut their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America cut their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

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.