Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 1,187,172 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,214,851 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,187,172 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.5% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Apple worth $2,491,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued 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 a consensus target price of $237.25.

Apple Trading Up 5.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $213.12 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.24. 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 P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.