Cannell & Co. Has $70.17 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cannell & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 540,052 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,879 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.5% of Cannell & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Cannell & Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $70,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MKT Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.5% in the second quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. now owns 3,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 2.9% in the first quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Weik Capital Management boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Weik Capital Management now owns 25,238 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 26,125 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,572,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 57.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $175.05 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.17 and a 52 week high of $176.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $164.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.30%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $90.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on Apple from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Cowen decreased their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.74.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 69,996 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $11,566,839.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,790,980.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.