Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lowered by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 256,539 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,090 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.9% of Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $59,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Apple by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,160,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,807 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,909,457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Apple by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,369,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,887 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Apple by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,291,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,061,296,000 after purchasing an additional 485,873 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $228.44. 29,288,498 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 58,329,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $227.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $217.47.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.25.

Apple Company 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.