Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is American Investment Services Inc.'s 9th Largest Position

American Investment Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,355 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 20,489 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.4% of American Investment Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. American Investment Services Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $13,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 119,262 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the period. Envision Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $512,000. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 46,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,713,000 after buying an additional 1,655 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Apple by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 250,656 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $59,368,000 after buying an additional 21,149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $201.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $202.35 and a 200 day moving average of $221.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Apple 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.