Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Lessened by Baskin Financial Services Inc.

Baskin Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 383,836 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,253 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.7% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Baskin Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $73,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. now owns 11,464 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 172,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $29,589,000 after acquiring an additional 20,737 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,461,000 after acquiring an additional 10,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 4,307,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $829,240,000 after purchasing an additional 279,311 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.80 and a 52-week high of $199.62.

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. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.05.

Apple Company Profile

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.