Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 56.4% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 66,394 shares worth about $14.75 million, making it the 26th largest position in their portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Apple, with First National Bank of Hutchinson and Brighton Jones LLC raising their holdings by 24.6% and 14.8%, respectively, during the last quarter.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Apple, with two analysts rating it a Strong Buy, while the average consensus target price for the stock is $239.05.

Cumberland Partners Ltd lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 56.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,394 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 85,870 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.1% of Cumberland Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $14,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after buying an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $237.59. The company had a trading volume of 26,928,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,577,613. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.40. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Citigroup upped their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.99.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.