Tufton Capital Management Has $25.80 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Tufton Capital Management cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,012 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,866 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.9% of Tufton Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Tufton Capital Management's holdings in Apple were worth $25,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group decreased their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.80.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $198.53. 36,406,804 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,072,498. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.38. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.