Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Trimmed by New Covenant Trust Company N.A.

New Covenant Trust Company N.A. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,582 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,085 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.4% of New Covenant Trust Company N.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. New Covenant Trust Company N.A.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Vestcor Inc lifted its position in shares of Apple by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,501,000 after acquiring an additional 34,414 shares during the period. 5th Street Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Simmons Bank lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $30,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,972,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $212.33 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $206.60 and a 200-day moving average of $226.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.