Sandy Spring Bank Has $120.13 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 479,709 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 8,795 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.9% of Sandy Spring Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sandy Spring Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $120,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Apple by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $192,700,000 after purchasing an additional 83,997 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,670,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the period. Finally, Berkshire Bank increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $199.01. 70,744,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,305,937. 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 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The business's fifty day moving average price is $203.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. 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. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.