Jennison Associates LLC Sells 2,899,281 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Jennison Associates LLC cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,585,441 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,899,281 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 5.7% of Jennison Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Apple worth $8,126,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 124,621 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,682,000 after buying an additional 11,322 shares in the last quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 80,856 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,960,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in Apple by 12.8% in the first quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,051,179 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $233,498,000 after purchasing an additional 119,308 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 316,414 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $70,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. raised its position in Apple by 6.7% in the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 1,664 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.37.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $232.14 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $215.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.91.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

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.