Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Sells 2,957 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,374 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,957 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 6.4% of Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $22,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 364.1% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 42,903 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,345,000 after buying an additional 33,659 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,111 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,326,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth $265,000. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 75,888 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,993,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 49.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,955 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,779,000 after purchasing an additional 20,911 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $183.38 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $172.17 and a 200-day moving average of $181.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% 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 year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.93%.

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.