Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is American Money Management LLC's 2nd Largest Position

American Money Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,635 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,412 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.6% of American Money Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. American Money Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $28,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Allianz SE acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $153,790,000. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,084,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 15,006 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,758,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 815,335 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $204,176,000 after acquiring an additional 6,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV now owns 9,750 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,442,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays dropped their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Maxim Group increased their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given 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, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.02.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $3.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $203.92. 46,477,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,154,463. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $201.17 and a 200 day moving average of $224.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, 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 results 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. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 an increase 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 yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% 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 worth $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.