Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Pegasus Asset Management Inc.

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,059 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,772 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 7.4% of Pegasus Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $18,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

Apple Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $0.17 on Monday, reaching $214.05. The company had a trading volume of 37,786,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,818,408. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $204.87 and a 200-day moving average of $214.22. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.