Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Axa S.A.

AXA S.A. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,488,363 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 352,938 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.9% of AXA S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Apple were worth $1,624,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $196.45. 51,345,532 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,742,937. 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 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company's 50 day moving average price is $201.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple 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.