Moody National Bank Trust Division Trims Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Moody National Bank Trust Division lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,097 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,556 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.1% of Moody National Bank Trust Division's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Moody National Bank Trust Division's holdings in Apple were worth $39,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Apple by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 250,656 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $59,368,000 after buying an additional 21,149 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 46,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares in the last quarter. Envision Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $512,000. HFG Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. HFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,982 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $1,202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $244.85.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.28 on Friday, reaching $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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $240.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.55. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's payout ratio is 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.