United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 506,907 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,814 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.9% of United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund's holdings in Apple were worth $126,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.6%

AAPL stock traded up $3.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $203.92. The stock had a trading volume of 46,447,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,081,504. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $201.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.35. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in 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 an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently 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.