Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Dempze Nancy E

Dempze Nancy E cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,081 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.5% of Dempze Nancy E’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Dempze Nancy E’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,999,145,000 after buying an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,566,054,000 after buying an additional 3,156,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,290,044 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,847,413,000 after buying an additional 674,991 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $199.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $201.28 and its 200-day moving average is $223.37. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

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, 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 company 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 firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.86.

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.