Cidel Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,361 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Cidel Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 2.9%, owning a total of 80,110 shares worth approximately $17.8 million after selling 2,361 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Apple, with institutional investors now owning 67.73% of the company's stock, highlighting ongoing investor confidence.
• Apple reported earnings per share of $1.57 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenue reaching $94.04 billion, a 9.6% year-over-year increase.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,110 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,361 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $17,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $1.1370 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $229.7530. 23,261,262 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,655,609. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $210.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.94. The company has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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.