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

Keb Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,324 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 544 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 0.6% of Keb Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Keb Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Robinson Value Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in Apple by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Align Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $175.16 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $164.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $124.17 and a one year high of $176.39.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 4th that allows the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.30%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,483.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $125.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Cowen reduced their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.74.

Apple Company 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.