Generali Investments Management Co LLC Sells 33,703 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 27.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,483 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 33,703 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.5% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $19,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $213.36. 34,955,836 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,618,682. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $203.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.14. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.20.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.