Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 233,779 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 10,852 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.4% of Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $58,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 25,285.2% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,411,260,000 after purchasing an additional 9,590,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.25.
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Insider Activity at Apple
In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Apple Stock Performance
AAPL traded down $7.97 on Friday, reaching $205.35. The stock had a trading volume of 100,891,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,620,753. The business's 50-day moving average price is $212.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.63. 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. The company has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.87%.
Apple declared that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
About Apple
(
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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