Mechanics Bank Trust Department Decreases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 227,229 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 43,778 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 7.6% of Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Apple were worth $56,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cowa LLC grew its position in Apple by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 36,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,652,000 after acquiring an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 522,769 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,106,000 after acquiring an additional 8,660 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,675,713 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $352,939,000 after acquiring an additional 70,266 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors grew its position in Apple by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 54,343 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 206,043 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $43,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $239.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $237.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

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.