Trillium Asset Management LLC Has $184.36 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Trillium Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 736,215 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 23,416 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.8% of Trillium Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Trillium Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $184,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $199.01. 70,744,759 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,229,633. The business's 50-day moving average price is $203.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.00. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Loop Capital dropped 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. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.