Jensen Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,329,243 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 338,455 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 7.5% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $833,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,670,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank boosted its position in Apple by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,433,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Apple Stock Performance
NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.55 on Friday, hitting $199.40. The stock had a trading volume of 8,470,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,035,679. The company's 50-day moving average is $203.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, 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.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.
Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.
Get Our Latest Report on Apple
Insider Transactions at Apple
In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Apple Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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