Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC's Largest Position

Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 291,931 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,790 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 10.7% of Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $73,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 19,033 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,766,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Peloton Wealth Strategists grew its holdings in Apple by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 2,607 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. HC Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HC Advisors LLC now owns 5,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. A&I Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,234,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,400,681 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $601,178,000 after purchasing an additional 66,032 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $196.26 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average is $209.64 and its 200 day moving average is $227.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.

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