Apple Inc. $AAPL is Sutton Place Investors LLC's 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Sutton Place Investors LLC has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 47.1%, making it the fund's 9th largest position, now valued at approximately $4.14 million.
• Apple's recent earnings report indicated a 9.6% year-over-year revenue growth with an EPS of $1.57, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a significant $100 billion share buyback plan, signaling management's confidence in the stock's value.

Sutton Place Investors LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 47.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,640 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 16,611 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 2.8% of Sutton Place Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Sutton Place Investors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $212.52 and its 200 day moving average is $213.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.98.

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.