William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 604,655 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,104,490 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 604,655 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.1% of William Blair Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,278,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

Apple stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $199.95. 51,367,725 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,208,923. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Apple

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.