Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Cuts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Plimoth Trust Co. LLC has reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 3.1%, holding $23.85 million worth of shares, which represents 6.2% of its investment portfolio.
• Apple recently declared a $100 billion stock buyback program and increased its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.26 per share.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Apple stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,351 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,475 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 6.2% of Plimoth Trust Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $23,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $2.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.05. 43,674,703 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $205.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.16. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.