Copeland Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Copeland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,375 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,091 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $21,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings 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 worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded up $3.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $233.60. 55,591,683 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,968,047. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $207.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

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

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.