Pinney & Scofield Inc. Purchases Shares of 21,556 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 21,556 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $5,398,000. Apple makes up 4.2% of Pinney & Scofield Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Apple by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $192,700,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in Apple by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,433,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded up $0.94 on Thursday, hitting $196.58. 45,342,877 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,338,522. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $202.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple 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.