Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Investment House LLC

Investment House LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 555,435 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 29,680 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 7.6% of Investment House LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Investment House LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $139,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $199.01. 70,744,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,305,937. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $203.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.20.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.