Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 4,556 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Moody National Bank Trust Division lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,097 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,556 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.1% of Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Apple were worth $39,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $245.55 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $240.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.55.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.