Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.'s Largest Position

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,458 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,566 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 7.6% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $22,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.1% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $787,631,000 after purchasing an additional 588,427 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 47,320 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,026,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 34,252 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,981,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the third quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 181,552 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heirloom Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the third quarter. Heirloom Wealth Management now owns 41,272 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $9,616,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $7.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $198.15. 87,256,357 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,775,060. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.16.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $240.26.

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.