Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s Largest Position

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,904,969 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 26,715 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 6.5% of Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $477,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $211.45. The stock had a trading volume of 43,910,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,930,688. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $206.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.99. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wedbush cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.