Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 19,085 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 362,782 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 19,085 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 6.7% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Appleton Partners Inc. MA's holdings in Apple were worth $90,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.26.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $7.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $198.15. 87,256,357 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,952,380. The company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average is $222.87 and its 200 day moving average is $231.14. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple's 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.