Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 843,400 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,200 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 7.5% of Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $187,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after purchasing an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $213.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $205.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple 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. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.