AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Trims Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,940,721 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 543,803 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 6.4% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Apple were worth $485,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.22.

Apple Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $214.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $233.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.71. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.