Romano Brothers AND Company Lowers Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Romano Brothers AND Company lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 107,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,349 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.1% of Romano Brothers AND Company's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Romano Brothers AND Company's holdings in Apple were worth $23,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th 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. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 58,816 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $14,729,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.95.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $213.36. The company had a trading volume of 34,955,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,618,682. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.14.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's 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 owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.