Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Has $9.20 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,726 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,498 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 3.4% of Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV's holdings in Apple were worth $9,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $211.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,614,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,938,270. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $206.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.84. 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 $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.