Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 177,754 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,904 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 3.3% of Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $44,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Services Automobile Association raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 349,900 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $87,622,000 after acquiring an additional 5,830 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Apple by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 792,773 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $198,527,000 after buying an additional 71,509 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 96.6% during the 4th quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Clune & Associates LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $7,297,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $179,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $202.28. 29,288,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,013,061. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $201.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Company 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.