Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Decreased by SevenBridge Financial Group LLC

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,394 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 8,440 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 6.2% of SevenBridge Financial Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $31,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $198.84. The company had a trading volume of 14,546,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,449,083. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.60.

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. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. 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.