Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Stewart & Patten Co. LLC

Stewart & Patten Co. LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,346 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,147 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.8% of Stewart & Patten Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $37,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 16,252.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 6,949,659 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its stake in Apple by 21.7% in the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 70.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 253,915 shares of company stock valued at $44,202,868. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies cut shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.08.

Apple Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $176.55 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $176.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $161.42 and a one year high of $199.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

About Apple

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.