Northstar Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Northstar Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,601 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,892 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 6.1% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $23,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $110,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $204.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $217.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $229.52. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 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.

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