Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s 6th Largest Position

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 41,278 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,079 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.4% of Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Park Capital Management LLC WI acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $6,279,000. Consolidated Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 76,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $19,280,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares in the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,852,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the period. MFG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,462,000. Finally, Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,476,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $194.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.84, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $220.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.53.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 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 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.