Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Cabot Wealth Management Inc.

Cabot Wealth Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,099 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,253 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.9% of Cabot Wealth Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Cabot Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $38,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Stevens Capital Partners boosted its holdings in Apple by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Partners now owns 10,969 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. Allodium Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $228,000. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 111,982 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,043,000 after buying an additional 9,837 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 62,139 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $15,561,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors boosted its stake in Apple by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 15,459 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,871,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $7.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $205.35. 100,891,435 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,620,753. The company's 50 day moving average is $212.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 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.