Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Reduced by City Holding Co.

City Holding Co. trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,396 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 14,698 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.8% of City Holding Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust raised its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 209.2% in the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wedbush set a $310.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.29.

Apple Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $247.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $239.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

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.