Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s 2nd Largest Position

Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,054 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 772 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 7.8% of Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

Apple stock opened at $213.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $203.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays set a $173.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 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. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.