Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Trimmed by RJA Asset Management LLC

RJA Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,270,400 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 157,679 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 87.1% of RJA Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. RJA Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $282,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.11.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $212.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $204.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.