Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Montchanin Asset Management LLC’s Largest Position

Montchanin Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,639 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,768 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 19.1% of Montchanin Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Montchanin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $196.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $202.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.00. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% 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 valued at $42,694,080 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.