Hilton Capital Management LLC Sells 13,252 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hilton Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,465 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 13,252 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.7% of Hilton Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Hilton Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $30,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in Apple by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its position in Apple by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,723,104 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $876,483,000 after acquiring an additional 103,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $4.87 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $200.14. 31,401,414 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,160,519. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.71.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

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.