Picton Mahoney Asset Management Has $52.88 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 211,185 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 50,250 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.6% of Picton Mahoney Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings in Apple were worth $52,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. United Capital Management of KS Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 79,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $19,783,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. HMV Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,894,000. First National Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 595,623 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $149,156,000 after purchasing an additional 4,516 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 113,873 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sienna Gestion boosted its position in shares of Apple by 860.8% during the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 430,191 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $107,713,000 after purchasing an additional 385,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Up 0.3%

Apple stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $200.76. The company had a trading volume of 8,638,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,075,115. 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's 50 day moving average price is $204.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.54. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. 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%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 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.