Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $4 Billion Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,979,440 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 64,999 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.2% of Clearbridge Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.11% of Apple worth $4,001,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $199.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,675,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,560,287. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The business's 50 day moving average is $200.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.60.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $0.26 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. Company 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.