Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Grove Bank & Trust

Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 175,985 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 6.1% of Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Apple were worth $44,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $3,552,000. Cambridge Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Advisors Inc. now owns 40,276 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,086,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 85,198 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $21,335,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 36,812 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 21,302 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,334,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $235.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $237.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.94. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.