Deltec Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Deltec Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,129 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,273 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.9% of Deltec Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Deltec Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $221,753,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,734,393 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 116,483.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $74,002,245,000 after purchasing an additional 569,066,184 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 291,538,165 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $56,396,763,000 after purchasing an additional 6,367,053 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Apple by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 234,017,381 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $38,589,468,000 after purchasing an additional 7,736,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Apple by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 208,655,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,110,586,000 after purchasing an additional 25,926,552 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Redburn Partners downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.34.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $167.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $175.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.10. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.80 and a 1 year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

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.