Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Cut by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,483,925 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 17,957 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.2% of Haverford Trust Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Haverford Trust Co's holdings in Apple were worth $622,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $24,566,054,000 after buying an additional 3,156,680 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.02.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $3.10 on Friday, hitting $203.73. 10,860,620 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,945,518. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $201.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 160.83%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.