Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Reduced by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,312,985 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 44,337 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.7% of Prudential PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Prudential PLC's holdings in Apple were worth $328,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $24,566,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156,680 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,290,044 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,847,413,000 after purchasing an additional 674,991 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.75 on Friday, reaching $196.45. The stock had a trading volume of 51,345,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,742,937. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $201.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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 issued 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 0.53%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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.