Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Polen Capital Management LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Polen Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,169,513 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 566,630 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.2% of Polen Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,544,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 3.0%

Apple stock opened at $195.27 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.71.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.