Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,578,866 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,191,513 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.3% of Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.18% of Apple worth $6,655,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp increased its stake in Apple by 3,368.2% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Apple by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $192,700,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,972,000. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $203.92 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.02.

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.