Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Cut by Pecaut & CO.

Pecaut & CO. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,185 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,556 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.7% of Pecaut & CO.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Pecaut & CO.'s holdings in Apple were worth $10,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Loop Capital cut their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $203.27. 46,332,353 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,131,611. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $202.29 and a 200 day moving average of $224.69. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.