Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 169,868 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,535 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 7.4% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Welch Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $146,000. Investec Asset Management LTD boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Investec Asset Management LTD now owns 1,023,299 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $118,518,000 after buying an additional 11,498 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 496,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $57,518,000 after buying an additional 76,401 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $370,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in shares of Apple by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 440,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $51,034,000 after buying an additional 41,206 shares during the last quarter. 61.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ AAPL) opened at 149.50 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.53 and a 12-month high of $156.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $779.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 1.31.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $52.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.61 billion. Apple had a net margin of 20.74% and a return on equity of 35.09%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post $8.87 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS AG raised their target price on Apple from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Sunday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial, Inc. reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up from $152.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Vetr raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.17 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Citigroup Inc. reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Atlantic Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, April 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Apple currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.67.
In other Apple news, SVP D Bruce Sewell sold 67,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total value of $10,041,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 141,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,023,507. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johny Srouji sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.20, for a total transaction of $1,532,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 96,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,820,261.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 373,000 shares of company stock valued at $56,497,046. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Apple
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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