AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Lowers Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,885,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 593,526 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.1% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,002,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its stake in Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $278.63 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $280.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $263.27 and its 200-day moving average is $231.59.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.