Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Cut by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,377,163 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 577,802 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 6.4% of Rhumbline Advisers' portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.19% of Apple worth $7,106,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Apple by 25,285.2% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,411,260,000 after purchasing an additional 9,590,933 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $6.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $205.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,793,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,640,486. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.92 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $217.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.25.

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.