Hickory Point Bank & Trust Invests $2.59 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,340 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,589,000. Apple comprises approximately 2.3% of Hickory Point Bank & Trust's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth about $288,000. Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in Apple by 10.1% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $87,501,000 after purchasing an additional 34,414 shares in the last quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 32.9% in the third quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Simmons Bank boosted its stake in Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $30,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,972,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $198.53. 36,406,804 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,093,894. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $208.09 and a 200 day moving average of $227.36.

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

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.