Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 483,841 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,237 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.6% of Sandy Spring Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $93,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 70.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. grew its position in Apple by 27.7% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $172.17 and its 200-day moving average is $181.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.