China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,197 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,967 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.2% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its position in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 70.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 27.7% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.05.

Apple Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $169.30 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $173.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.79. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.