Cullen Capital Management LLC Sells 100 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cullen Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,344 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $199.20 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.86.

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.