Connable Office Inc. Sells 1,862 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Connable Office Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,308 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,862 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.3% of Connable Office Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Connable Office Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $12,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $198.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 36,406,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,093,894. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.36. 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 capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

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. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 in the last 90 days. 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.