Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Cardano Risk Management B.V.’s 2nd Largest Position

Cardano Risk Management B.V. lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,894,327 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 99,400 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 15.4% of Cardano Risk Management B.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Cardano Risk Management B.V.’s holdings in Apple were worth $496,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $209.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $220.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Melius Research raised their price objective on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.