Ascent Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ascent Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,846 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 46,155 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.0% of Ascent Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $39,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $196.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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 paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.