Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Sells 444 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,529 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 444 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.4% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Apple were worth $4,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $231.59 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $209.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16.

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

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.78%.

Apple 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.