Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,346,040 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 34,024 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 6.0% of AMF Tjanstepension AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings in Apple were worth $837,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $208.78. 45,304,005 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,954,362. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $206.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

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.