Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Thompson Investment Management Inc.

Thompson Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,115 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,007 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.2% of Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Shorepath Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 32.3% during the first quarter. Shorepath Capital Management LLC now owns 45,394 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,784,000 after purchasing an additional 11,082 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.8% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 26,561 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 86.4% during the first quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,330,602 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $399,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,293 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the first quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 77,282 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the period. Finally, New England Professional Planning Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.1% during the first quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 4,944 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Melius Research boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.71.

Apple Stock Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $216.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $220.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $192.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.31. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

About Apple

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.