Westwood Management Corp IL Sells 58,452 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Westwood Management Corp IL cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,640 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 58,452 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.2% of Westwood Management Corp IL’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Westwood Management Corp IL’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Apple by 6.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826,709 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in 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 valued at $6,605,195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,020,609,000 after buying an additional 287,329 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price objective (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $184.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.79. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 Company 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.