Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. reduced its stake in Apple by 21.4% in Q1, now holding 108,534 shares valued at approximately $24.11 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Apple, with an average price target of $237.98, as several research firms recently issued new ratings and price adjustments.
• Apple's quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share reflects a 0.5% dividend yield, while the company has initiated a $100 billion stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 108,534 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 29,524 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.6% of Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $24,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 25,934.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after acquiring an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.98.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.86 on Friday, reaching $227.76. The stock had a trading volume of 42,431,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. 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 $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's fifty day moving average is $212.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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 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 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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

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.