Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. Decreases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,023 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,146 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 0.1% of Cantor Fitzgerald L. P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P.'s holdings in Apple were worth $6,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded down $2.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $195.64. The stock had a trading volume of 38,709,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,633,249. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average is $202.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. 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 yield of 0.53%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the 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 directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.