Whittier Trust Co. Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,766,469 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 24,463 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 4.4% of Whittier Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $362,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. raised its stake in Apple by 13.2% in the second quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust raised its stake in Apple by 2.4% during the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,107,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 209.2% in the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plum Street Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Plum Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,889 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.9%

Apple stock opened at $266.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.40, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $277.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $258.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.42.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Argus set a $325.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. CLSA upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. HSBC set a $220.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.