Deutsche Bank AG Trims Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,606,265 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,535,349 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.3% of Deutsche Bank AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.29% of Apple worth $10,919,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS increased its position in shares of Apple by 7.6% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 73,945 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $17,229,000 after acquiring an additional 5,231 shares in the last quarter. SMART Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the third quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 14,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,397,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. SK Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $3,304,000. Penney Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the third quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 7,852 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,829,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of Apple by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 11,509 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock traded down $2.78 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.64. 38,432,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,632,716. The company has a 50-day moving average of $202.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson increased 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

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.