Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 28,506 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 812,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 28,506 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.9% of Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $203,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $202.09 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $205.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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 160.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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