NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,164 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,172 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 0.5% of NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth about $487,435,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after buying an additional 2,826,709 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Maxim Group started coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’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 owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 371,270 shares of company stock valued at $64,605,696 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $189.98 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $175.89 and its 200 day moving average is $183.04. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.