Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors' 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc reduced its Apple Inc. holdings by 1.9%, selling 1,784 shares, leaving them with a total of 91,468 shares valued at approximately $19.93 million.
• Recently, several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Apple, with Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosting its holding by 82.5% to nearly 67,925 shares.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.26 per share and initiated a massive $100 billion share repurchase plan, signaling confidence in its stock valuation.

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,468 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,784 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.0% of Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $19,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% 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. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $2.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.05. The company had a trading volume of 43,674,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $205.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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 $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically 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.