Groupama Asset Managment Sells 17,862 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,261,671 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 17,862 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.0% of Groupama Asset Managment’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Apple were worth $342,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.85 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $289.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

Apple Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.