Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Cullen Investment Group LTD.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,198 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 7.9% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Apple were worth $53,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 20,372.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $245.55 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $240.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.85.

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.