Talbot Financial LLC Trims Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Talbot Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 370,988 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,855 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 11.0% of Talbot Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Talbot Financial LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $92,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 2.7% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $60,958,000 after buying an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,473,224,000 after buying an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Raymond James upped their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.85.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.28 on Friday, hitting $245.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,102,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,742,392. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.55. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.