Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 241,277 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 160,703 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 8.9% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $60,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Apple by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $192,700,000 after purchasing an additional 83,997 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,670,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its position in Apple by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,433,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $201.70 on Tuesday. 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 $202.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.84. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Company 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.