Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Reduced by Excalibur Management Corp

Excalibur Management Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,526 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 703 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.4% of Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.80.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $202.82 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $201.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. 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.

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

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.