Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 3,029 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,256 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,029 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 7.6% of Sentry Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.5% during the third 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 period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the third 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 during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position 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 worth $2,411,260,000 after purchasing an additional 9,590,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 6.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $7.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $205.35. The company had a trading volume of 100,891,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,192,627. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The business's 50 day moving average price is $212.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.61. 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change 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 yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple 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.