Callahan Advisors LLC Has $42.67 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Callahan Advisors LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,380 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,863 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 4.0% of Callahan Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Callahan Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $42,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 8,996 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,253,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 20,924 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,240,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 26,496 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Traction Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Traction Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 83,977 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $21,029,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the 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 directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.88.

Apple Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $208.37 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.15 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's fifty day moving average is $216.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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