Webster Bank N. A. Sells 2,698 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Webster Bank N. A. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,843 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,698 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.3% of Webster Bank N. A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Webster Bank N. A.'s holdings in Apple were worth $48,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,012,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 119,262 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 40,991 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,794 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 11,330 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,837,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital CS Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 109.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital CS Group LLC now owns 3,797 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 44,406 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the 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 owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AAPL opened at $200.30 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $202.29 and a 200 day moving average of $220.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share 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 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Company 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.

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