Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Avalon Trust Co

Avalon Trust Co lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 459,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,985 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 8.2% of Avalon Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $115,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.3% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Apple by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,723,104 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $876,483,000 after acquiring an additional 103,856 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 3.0%

AAPL opened at $195.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.