Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Dover Advisors LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Dover Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 54,137 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,451 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 7.8% of Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $205.35 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $212.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.63. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Raymond James reduced their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.