Westchester Capital Management Inc. Has $33.73 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 175,206 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,360 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 9.1% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $33,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,696,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays upped 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. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $184.57 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $172.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.79. 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 company has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Apple

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.