Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,904,969 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 26,715 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 6.5% of Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $477,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $212.33 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $206.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.99. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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 that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, 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 have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.