Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 273,642 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,193 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 5.6% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $68,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $288,000. Vestcor Inc raised its position in Apple by 10.1% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,501,000 after buying an additional 34,414 shares during the period. 5th Street Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 32.9% in the third quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its position in Apple by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $30,905,000 after buying an additional 2,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at $4,972,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $198.53 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $208.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company’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 company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.