BIT Capital GmbH Sells 3,664 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

BIT Capital GmbH cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 82.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 807 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,664 shares during the period. BIT Capital GmbH's holdings in Apple were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $2.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $201.45. 72,665,260 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,221,295. The stock's fifty day moving average is $200.72 and its 200 day moving average is $223.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays cut their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given 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, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.02.

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.