Exchange Bank Lowers Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Exchange Bank cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,334 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,121 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.1% of Exchange Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Exchange Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 2.9 %

AAPL opened at $216.75 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $220.20. 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 company has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.31.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Melius Research boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.