Ancora Advisors LLC Sells 7,800 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ancora Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 582,640 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,800 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.3% of Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $145,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $196.45. 51,345,532 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,742,937. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $201.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

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.