Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Sells 1,535 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 264,755 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,535 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.6% of Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $50,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Headinvest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,461,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 4,307,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $829,240,000 after acquiring an additional 279,311 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management grew its position in Apple by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 37,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 673,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $115,284,000 after buying an additional 24,634 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $184.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.79. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

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.