Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by DT Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• DT Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 4.8%, selling 2,114 shares, and now holds 41,798 shares valued at approximately $9.29 million.
• Apple's stock recently traded at $227.76, with analysts providing an average target price of $237.98 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, alongside a $100 billion stock buyback plan, indicating management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

DT Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,798 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,114 shares during the period. Apple makes up 0.9% of DT Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. DT Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $9,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded up $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $212.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.