Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by L & S Advisors Inc

L & S Advisors Inc trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,784 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 16,084 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.3% of L & S Advisors Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $29,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 6.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, 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 transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $201.45. 72,159,282 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,219,988. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $201.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.12. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.