J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 535,565 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 11,071 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 12.5% of J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $134,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $200.76. 8,638,989 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,075,115. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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 firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

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.