Summit Global Investments Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Summit Global Investments trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 37.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,344 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 25,251 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 0.7% of Summit Global Investments' portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Apple were worth $9,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after purchasing an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $192,700,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,433,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of AAPL traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $201.08. The stock had a trading volume of 73,093,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,477,308. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.53. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.39.

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.