Webster Bank N. A. Has $52.33 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Webster Bank N. A. lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,881 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.6% of Webster Bank N. A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Apple were worth $52,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Apple by 127.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,943,000 after acquiring an additional 42,282 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Apple by 37.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 278,379 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $47,736,000 after acquiring an additional 75,939 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Apple by 3,199.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,666,108 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $285,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615,618 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Apple by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 1,010,341 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $173,253,000 after buying an additional 73,898 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Apple by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 465,766 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $79,870,000 after purchasing an additional 32,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.0 %

AAPL stock opened at $239.59 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $240.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $229.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays lowered their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 in the last ninety days. Company 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.