Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 404 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,024 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 404 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 7.4% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its position in shares of Apple by 7.3% in the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 892 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $245.00 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.03.

Apple Company 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.