Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Welch Group LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Welch Group LLC cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367,709 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,151 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.8% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $70,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,605,195,000 after buying an additional 1,696,576 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,020,609,000 after buying an additional 287,329 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Apple by 7.5% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,616,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,502,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,430 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Maxim Group assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.05.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $165.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.80 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.24 and a 200-day moving average of $182.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

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.