Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. Sells 12,400 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 744,308 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 12,400 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.9% of Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $186,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $211.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $206.09 and its 200 day moving average is $226.68.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.