Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Trimmed by Busey Bank

Busey Bank reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,011,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 20,361 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 7.5% of Busey Bank’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Busey Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $194,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $173.03 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $172.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.57. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Maxim Group started coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.62.

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.