Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Somerset Group LLC

Somerset Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,345 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 5.6% of Somerset Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Somerset Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 25,285.2% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,411,260,000 after acquiring an additional 9,590,933 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $199.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.80.

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.