Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 64.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 860 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,530 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.3% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $4.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $202.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,370,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,587,043. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $205.22 and a 200-day moving average of $213.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.