Highlander Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Highlander Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,304 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 885 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.6% of Highlander Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Highlander Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,010 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after buying an additional 70,212,651 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Apple by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after buying an additional 2,826,709 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Apple by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,605,195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,020,609,000 after acquiring an additional 287,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $169.30 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.05.

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.