Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Raised by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,795,663 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,017 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.9% of Whittier Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $449,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

AAPL stock traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $199.01. The company had a trading volume of 70,744,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,229,633. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $203.10 and a 200 day moving average of $225.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 leadership believes its stock is 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 paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 16th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

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.