IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 23,969 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

IFM Investors Pty Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,826,876 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 23,969 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 6.8% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $627,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Apple Stock Up 1.8%

AAPL stock opened at $234.07 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.20. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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 given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.80.

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.