Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Reduced by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 247,415 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,189 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.5% of Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $47,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management increased its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction 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 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 371,270 shares of company stock valued at $64,605,696. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $186.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $175.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.96. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 price objective (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.71.

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.