Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s Largest Position

Missouri Trust & Investment Co lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,287 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 12,602 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 11.9% of Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $33,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 119,414 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,405,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 131,191 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $32,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,355,447 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,090,691,000 after purchasing an additional 19,883 shares during the last quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 99,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,817,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Genesis Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,363,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.22.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $216.98 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $235.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.00. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.