Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 295,272 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 10,935 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.7% of Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $73,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's 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 $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of AAPL traded down $2.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $196.26. The company had a trading volume of 67,172,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,184,954. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50 day moving average price is $210.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.13. 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson upped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

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.