Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Picton Mahoney Asset Management's 8th Largest Position

Picton Mahoney Asset Management lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 211,185 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 50,250 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.6% of Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings in Apple were worth $52,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,670,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the third quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,723,104 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $876,483,000 after buying an additional 103,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $4.87 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $200.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,401,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,160,519. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $204.64 and a 200 day moving average of $225.71. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.