King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 49,910 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

King Luther Capital Management Corp cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,988,005 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 49,910 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 6.5% of King Luther Capital Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Apple were worth $1,499,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $206.86 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $205.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.43. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $933,940.34. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.