Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Grove Bank & Trust

Grove Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,604 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,381 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.1% of Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Apple were worth $38,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $212.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $204.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.41. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.