Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Eastover Investment Advisors LLC

Eastover Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,205 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,455 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.7% of Eastover Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $11,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted 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 worth $192,700,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,433,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, China Renaissance began 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $200.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $202.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

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.

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