AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 48,623 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,199,877 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 48,623 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.7% of AQR Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,047,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of 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. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell 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 $282.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $278.28 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $268.24 and a 200-day moving average of $236.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

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.