DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,802 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 45,552 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 10.3% of DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co's holdings, making the stock its largest position. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co's holdings in Apple were worth $52,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Apple Trading Down 3.7 %
AAPL traded down $7.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $205.35. The company had a trading volume of 100,891,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,192,627. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $212.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Apple
In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. 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. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.17.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Apple
About Apple
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Free Report)
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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