Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,748 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,502 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.6% of Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $24,566,054,000 after buying an additional 3,156,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $203.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.02.

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.