Austin Asset Management Co Inc Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Austin Asset Management Co Inc decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,052 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 204 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.2% of Austin Asset Management Co Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Austin Asset Management Co Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% during 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. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $229.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $206.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.16. 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, 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 hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.60.

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.