Saybrook Capital NC Sells 1,440 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Saybrook Capital NC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,307 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,440 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 11.1% of Saybrook Capital NC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Saybrook Capital NC's holdings in Apple were worth $41,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $206.86. 42,411,396 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,903,925. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $205.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.57. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Four equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.