Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 1,659 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,005 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,659 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 8.1% of Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $23,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC grew its position in Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $211.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 48,647,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,145,744. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $204.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

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

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 issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Apple

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.