Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Ted Buchan & Co

Ted Buchan & Co lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 183 shares during the quarter. Ted Buchan & Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,054,043 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,268,993,000 after buying an additional 216,671 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its position in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 9,313,623 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,332,317,000 after buying an additional 328,937 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Capital Management LLP grew its position in Apple by 190.3% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Capital Management LLP now owns 713,037 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $178,559,000 after buying an additional 467,434 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,439,000. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 40,635 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,176,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

AAPL stock opened at $199.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.37. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.86.

Apple 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.