Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Hendershot Investments Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Hendershot Investments Inc. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 222,953 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,021 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 6.6% of Hendershot Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $42,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 24,520 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,721,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Apple by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 11,526 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 100,026 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $19,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947 shares during the last quarter. Fingerlakes Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Fingerlakes Wealth Management Inc. now owns 36,113 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,953,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 196,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $37,824,000 after purchasing an additional 5,064 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. 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 report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Apple Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $181.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $172.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 valued at $63,653,887 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.