Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,688 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $6,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $201.70. The stock had a trading volume of 35,334,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,145,385. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.70 and a 200 day moving average of $224.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.