Skye Global Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Skye Global Management LP decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 286,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 317,500 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.6% of Skye Global Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Skye Global Management LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $66,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased 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 valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s 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. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $232.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $241.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Maxim Group increased their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

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.