Graphene Investments SAS Trims Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Graphene Investments SAS cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,100 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 6.1% of Graphene Investments SAS’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Graphene Investments SAS’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 364.1% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 42,903 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,345,000 after acquiring an additional 33,659 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,111 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,326,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $265,000. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 75,888 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,993,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,955 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,779,000 after acquiring an additional 20,911 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $183.38 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $172.17 and a 200-day moving average of $181.67. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.93%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 price target (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Company 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.