Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Sells 160,703 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,277 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 160,703 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 8.9% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $60,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.02.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple 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 now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of AAPL traded up $3.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $203.92. 46,477,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,141,787. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management 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.