Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Aljian Capital Management LLC’s Largest Position

Aljian Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 311,164 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,159 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 16.9% of Aljian Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Aljian Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $77,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $196.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.28. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.85.

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.