Webster Bank N. A. Sells 548 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Webster Bank N. A. reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 245,113 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 548 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.8% of Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Apple were worth $47,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $487,435,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $461,021,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related 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 value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’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 transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Maxim Group assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $173.88 and its 200 day moving average is $182.03. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.80 and a 12 month high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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 business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid 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%.

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.