Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 44.7%, selling 327,224 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with a total of 404,964 shares valued at approximately $89.96 million.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a moderate buy rating for Apple, with an average price target of $238.99; Moffett Nathanson upgraded their rating from "sell" to "neutral" with a target of $225.
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 44.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 404,964 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 327,224 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.9% of Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $89,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $3.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $233.92. The company had a trading volume of 35,600,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,755,895. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.