Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lifted by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,022 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,109 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.1% of Equitable Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $55,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $198.15 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.14. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 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.