Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Mitchell Capital Management Co.'s 2nd Largest Position

Mitchell Capital Management Co. lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,387 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,692 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 7.2% of Mitchell Capital Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Mitchell Capital Management Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $41,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased 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 during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $198.53. 36,406,804 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,093,894. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $208.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.36. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson upped 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. TD Cowen decreased 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, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.