Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Increased by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 576,462 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 15,361 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 7.0% of Trust Co. of Vermont's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Apple were worth $144,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $219,829,700,000 after acquiring an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after buying an additional 5,893,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.88.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $235.74. 47,184,984 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,560,264. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $238.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.92. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

About Apple

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.