CPA Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

CPA Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,320 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,021 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.1% of CPA Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. CPA Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $221,753,959,000 after buying an additional 8,734,393 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 116,483.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $74,002,245,000 after acquiring an additional 569,066,184 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 291,538,165 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $56,396,763,000 after acquiring an additional 6,367,053 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 234,017,381 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $38,589,468,000 after acquiring an additional 7,736,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Apple by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 208,655,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,110,586,000 after acquiring an additional 25,926,552 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $167.78 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $159.78 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $177.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 253,915 shares of company stock valued at $44,202,868 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Apple from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.23.

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.