Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by EMC Capital Management

EMC Capital Management lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 37.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 499 shares during the quarter. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,394,751,000 after buying an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after buying an additional 2,826,709 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,605,195,000 after buying an additional 1,696,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Apple by 1.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 287,329 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $184.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $172.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.79.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.