Deltec Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Deltec Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,897 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.4% of Deltec Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Deltec Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,505,000 after buying an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the third quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 276,791 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $64,492,000 after buying an additional 6,711 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $188.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $229.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its 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 predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

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.