Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC

Key Points

• Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 34.0%, owning 15,774 shares worth approximately $3.50 million after selling 8,112 shares.
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.5%, and authorized a share repurchase program for $100 billion of its outstanding shares.
• The company's stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $237.60, following varying ratings and price target adjustments from several research firms.

Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 34.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,774 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 8,112 shares during the quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $3,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 25,934.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after purchasing an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 23,555.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $2.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $212.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.96.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend 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 of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Barclays lifted their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.98.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.