Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Trimmed by Abacus Planning Group Inc.

Abacus Planning Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 100,157 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 10,500 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.4% of Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $17,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Apple by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 14,395.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Apple by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,677,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,360 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $210.62 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $220.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $192.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.46.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

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.