Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,865 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 674 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.3% of Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $64,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 119,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,222,000 after acquiring an additional 12,741 shares during the period. Blue Square Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14.7% in the second quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC now owns 21,867 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,810 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the second quarter. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 26,009 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,478,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. GEM Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. GEM Asset Management LLC now owns 19,245 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,053,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 31,069 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,544,000 after buying an additional 5,905 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $247.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.34. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

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.