Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 320,763 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,445,206 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 320,763 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 5.9% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Apple were worth $1,431,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 21,617 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $1.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $211.16. 39,713,698 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,348,025. The stock's fifty day moving average is $203.39 and its 200 day moving average is $217.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.27.

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.