Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s 3rd Largest Position

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 20.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,685 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,994 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.3% of Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its stake in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC increased its stake in Apple by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 83,965 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $230.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $203.00 and a 200 day moving average of $187.44. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $233.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. 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 company posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, July 4th. DA Davidson raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.43.

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.