Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Decreased by DDD Partners LLC

DDD Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 164,623 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,383 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.1% of DDD Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. DDD Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $41,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its stake in shares of Apple by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after acquiring an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc boosted its position in shares of Apple by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,501,000 after acquiring an additional 34,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 5th Street Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 32.9% in the third quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 3.4 %

Apple stock opened at $199.74 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $217.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.69. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.92 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.00.

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.