Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Lowered by New Perspectives Inc

New Perspectives Inc lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,475 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.5% of New Perspectives Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. New Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 25,934.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $133,425,490,000 after purchasing an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 23,555.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $231.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $209.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.33. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank cut Apple to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.60.

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.