LGT Capital Partners LTD. reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 544,979 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 43,861 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.2% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s holdings in Apple were worth $136,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Apple Stock Down 0.9%
NASDAQ AAPL traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $206.86. 42,411,396 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,903,925. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50-day moving average is $205.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.57. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management 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 issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Apple
In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus upgraded Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Apple
Apple Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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