Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Hills Bank & Trust Co's 10th Largest Position

Hills Bank & Trust Co cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,071 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,084 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.5% of Hills Bank & Trust Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Hills Bank & Trust Co's holdings in Apple were worth $33,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This 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. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $200.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,638,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,075,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $204.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.54. 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.