Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Lessened by Cetera Trust Company N.A

Cetera Trust Company N.A cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,097 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 263 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 7.3% of Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $216.98 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $235.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors 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 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.