K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Cuts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,301 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,403 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 7.3% of K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $37,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% during 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 during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.1%

AAPL opened at $229.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.