Swiss National Bank reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,951,268 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 287,900 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 7.2% of Swiss National Bank's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of Apple worth $10,755,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Apple Stock Down 3.0%
AAPL traded down $6.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $195.27. 78,299,242 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,175,935. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $205.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
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 issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.
Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Apple
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% 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 Profile
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Free Report)
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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