Westchester Capital Management Inc. Has $36.71 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 174,287 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,639 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 9.3% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $36,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its position in Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $226.80 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $222.90 and its 200-day moving average is $204.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 458,619 shares of company stock worth $101,352,630. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

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.