Wesbanco Bank Inc. Lowers Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 652,840 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 237,672 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 7.1% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $125,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 83,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $207.47.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.75 on Friday, hitting $212.49. The stock had a trading volume of 70,047,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 63,014,645. The company has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $220.20. The business's fifty day moving average is $183.77 and its 200 day moving average is $184.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Apple's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.