Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,191 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,068 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.7% of Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $19,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $195.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.92. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 0.53%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Apple

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.

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