Heritage Investment Group Inc. Sells 2,880 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Heritage Investment Group Inc. lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,370 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,880 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 0.4% of Heritage Investment Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Heritage Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robinson Value Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP increased its stake in Apple by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Align Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.74.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $7,215,515.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,569,202.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $7,215,515.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,569,202.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,483.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $174.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $165.32 and a 200-day moving average of $150.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $176.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The company had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.30%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that allows the company to buyback $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Apple

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.