20,304 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Purchased by Sage Investment Counsel LLC

Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,304 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $5,085,000. Apple comprises 6.6% of Sage Investment Counsel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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 research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Trading Up 0.5 %

Apple stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $198.53. The stock had a trading volume of 36,406,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,093,894. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.36. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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.