Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Decreases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,058 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,124 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.4% of Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $34,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $199.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.69. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.92 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.00.

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.