Buckingham Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,542 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 174,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,542 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.0% of Buckingham Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $43,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its holdings in Apple by 12.8% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its position in Apple by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $87,501,000 after purchasing an additional 34,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 5th Street Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $208.37 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.15 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average is $216.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.88.

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.

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