Generali Investments Management Co LLC Sells 33,703 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 27.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 33,703 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 5.5% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $213.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $203.26 and a 200-day moving average of $219.14. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.95.

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.