Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Lowered by Mattern Capital Management LLC

Mattern Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,684 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,754 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.2% of Mattern Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Mattern Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $17,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after acquiring an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 5.0%

AAPL opened at $213.12 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $205.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.25.

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.