Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Arjuna Capital

Arjuna Capital reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,962 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,868 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 9.1% of Arjuna Capital's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Arjuna Capital's holdings in Apple were worth $34,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Apple by 25,285.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,411,260,000 after acquiring an additional 9,590,933 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $211.26. The company had a trading volume of 53,614,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,997,127. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $206.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

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.