Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by Capital Management Associates NY

Capital Management Associates NY cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,954 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,761 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.4% of Capital Management Associates NY's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Capital Management Associates NY's holdings in Apple were worth $3,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,670,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the third quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,723,104 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $876,483,000 after buying an additional 103,856 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 3.0%

AAPL stock opened at $195.27 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $205.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.95. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. 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%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Company 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.

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