Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Boston Research & Management Inc.

Boston Research & Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,065 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 436 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.5% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 23,555.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $201.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $200.72 and its 200 day moving average is $223.92. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during 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%. Apple’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.02.

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.