Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,684 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,032 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 0.8% of Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $17,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Apple by 25,934.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 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. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays set a $173.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.27.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $212.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $203.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.