Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lowered by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Cullinan Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 29.9% in the first quarter, owning 460,720 shares worth approximately $102.34 million.
• Apple's Board of Directors has authorized a $100 billion stock buyback program, signaling a belief that shares are undervalued.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.65 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.62 and achieving a revenue of $95.36 billion.

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 29.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 460,720 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 196,092 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 7.2% of Cullinan Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Cullinan Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $102,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $5.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $202.38. The stock had a trading volume of 97,423,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $205.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.98. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.17.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 172.48%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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.