Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 4.3%, leaving them with 785,534 shares valued at approximately $174.5 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Apple's stock experienced a slight increase of 0.5%, trading at $239.78, with a market cap of $3.56 trillion and a notable PE ratio of 32.85.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Apple, with price targets ranging from $220.00 to $266.00, indicating a generally positive outlook for the company's stock.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 785,534 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 35,337 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $174,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 67,838 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $15,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 148,755 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $33,401,000 after acquiring an additional 5,315 shares during the period. Prospect Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Prospect Financial Group LLC now owns 9,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,121,000. Finally, Freemont Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 56,400 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.05.

Apple Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,739,392. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $219.28 and a 200-day moving average of $212.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

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.