Capital Management Associates Inc Sells 334 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Capital Management Associates Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,606 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.3% of Capital Management Associates Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Capital Management Associates Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $172.42 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.