Eqis Capital Management Inc. Sells 337 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Eqis Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,581 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Apple comprises 0.5% of Eqis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Eqis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glacier Peak Capital LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Odey Holdings AG raised its position in Apple by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Odey Holdings AG now owns 1,273 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Salem Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $226,000. 61.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) opened at 149.50 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.53 and a 12-month high of $156.65. The company has a market capitalization of $779.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $146.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.08. Apple had a return on equity of 35.09% and a net margin of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $52.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.61 billion. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post $8.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS AG set a $151.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.67.

In other Apple news, SVP D Bruce Sewell sold 67,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total transaction of $10,041,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 141,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,023,507. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Angela J. Ahrendts sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.98, for a total value of $11,098,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 154,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,806,085.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 373,000 shares of company stock valued at $56,497,046. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (Apple) designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. The Company’s products and services include iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and OS X operating systems, iCloud, and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings.

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