Cincinnati Insurance Co. Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cincinnati Insurance Co. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 420,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 153,563 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.9% of Cincinnati Insurance Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cincinnati Insurance Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $105,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $24,566,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple 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 transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% 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 valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

Apple stock traded down $2.47 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $201.45. The stock had a trading volume of 72,665,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,221,299. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $201.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.12.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.02.

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.