James Investment Research Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

James Investment Research Inc. lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,194 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,354 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.0% of James Investment Research Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. James Investment Research Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $33,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $288,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its holdings in Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $59,122,000 after acquiring an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $87,501,000 after purchasing an additional 34,414 shares during the period. Finally, 5th Street Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Loop Capital lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.88.

Apple Stock Up 1.4 %

Apple stock traded up $2.87 on Thursday, hitting $207.47. 24,372,930 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,694,602. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $166.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $217.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.