Wellington Management Group LLP Has $22.46 Billion Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,394,516 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,523,962 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.9% of Wellington Management Group LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.64% of Apple worth $22,459,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $227.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $241.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.13. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

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.