Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Lowered by Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd

Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,574 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 33,724 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 21.4% of Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $41,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.25.

Apple Stock Down 2.2%

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $4.62 on Friday, hitting $202.95. 46,370,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,587,043. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $205.22 and a 200-day moving average of $213.98. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.