Martin & Co. Inc. TN Trims Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Martin & Co. Inc. TN trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,117 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,738 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.4% of Martin & Co. Inc. TN’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Martin & Co. Inc. TN’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $204.57 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $217.14 and its 200 day moving average is $229.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.17.

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.