Barden Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Barden Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,017 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 289 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.1% of Barden Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Barden Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Starfox Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Starfox Financial Services LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the first quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,680 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,399,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. boosted its stake in Apple by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 2,340,129 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $304,053,000 after buying an additional 115,929 shares during the last quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $1,874,000. Finally, Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 115,970 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $19,123,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 15,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.56, for a total transaction of $2,753,216.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,363,619.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $189.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $186.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $198.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The iPhone maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $81.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.79 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.92% and a net margin of 24.68%. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 11th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $193.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. 58.com reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Raymond James raised their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.86.

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.