Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lessened by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,873,164 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 27,000 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.6% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $469,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $4.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.09. The company had a trading volume of 59,113,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,963,045. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $205.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 target price (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.