Trust Investment Advisors Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Trust Investment Advisors raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 42.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 70,751 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 20,921 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 11.3% of Trust Investment Advisors' holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Trust Investment Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $17,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $3.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.92. 46,477,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,154,463. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $201.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.12.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

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 issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.02.

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.