Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 234,403 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 23,767 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.1% of Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $30,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Apple by 20.0% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $456,728,000 after purchasing an additional 435,891 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Markel Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $210,752,000 after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares during the period. Camden Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 9.2% in the first quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,305,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $23,629,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.60% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $7,215,515.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,569,202.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $7,215,515.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,569,202.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total value of $32,984.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 177,657 shares in the company, valued at $29,299,192.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. National Bank Financial reduced their target price on Apple to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Cowen cut their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.29.
Apple Stock Up 1.0 %
AAPL opened at $173.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $161.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.48. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $176.15.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. The company’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 4th that allows the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.62%.
Apple Profile
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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.
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