Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Bell Bank

Bell Bank reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,206 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,450 shares during the period. Apple comprises 0.8% of Bell Bank's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Bell Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $15,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co boosted its holdings in Apple by 80.7% during the first quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 150,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $33,319,000 after buying an additional 67,000 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.5% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 11,373 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth $1,346,000. RS Crum Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.1% during the first quarter. RS Crum Inc. now owns 22,821 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,069,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.0% during the first quarter. Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV now owns 48,996 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,883,000 after buying an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $213.88. The stock had a trading volume of 38,805,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,464,392. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share 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 buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 18th. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

About Apple

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.