Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Clarus Group Inc.’s Largest Position

Clarus Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,496 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,222 shares during the period. Apple makes up 7.8% of Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headinvest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,461,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 4,307,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $829,240,000 after purchasing an additional 279,311 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 37,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 673,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $115,284,000 after purchasing an additional 24,634 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.2 %

AAPL stock opened at $182.74 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.78. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.11.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.