Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Birch Capital Management LLC

Birch Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,219 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Apple comprises 6.7% of Birch Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $221,753,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,734,393 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 80,739,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,097,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,915 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Apple by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 71,060,708 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,407,910,000 after purchasing an additional 8,230,300 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,874,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,779,544,000 after purchasing an additional 698,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 48,826,270 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,525,555,000 after purchasing an additional 424,839 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,483.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed via the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,483.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed via the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.1 %

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NASDAQ AAPL opened at $175.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $164.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $176.39.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The company had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to buy back $90.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividends

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Fundamental Research set a $183.86 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 17th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 6th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Atlantic Securities upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Two equity research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.74.

Apple Company Profile

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Apple, Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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