Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,242 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.0% of Moody National Bank Trust Division’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Apple were worth $25,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 1.1 %

AAPL stock opened at $214.29 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $220.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.06.

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.