Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Decreased by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 174,302 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,346 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.2% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $33,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in Apple by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.7 %

Apple stock opened at $189.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 371,270 shares of company stock worth $64,605,696 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Maxim Group initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 price target (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.44.

About Apple

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.