Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,514 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 17,519 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.4% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $25,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after buying an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $24,566,054,000 after buying an additional 3,156,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,290,044 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,847,413,000 after buying an additional 674,991 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $198.84. 14,546,869 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,449,083. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.60. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.