GEM Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

GEM Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 936 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.7% of GEM Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. GEM Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after acquiring an additional 5,005,297 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Apple by 13.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised 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 buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 4.3%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $256.08 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $225.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.03.

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.