Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 7,098 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,735,567 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,098 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.4% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $356,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,107,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the second quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 209.2% during the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $286.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $287.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $264.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, CLSA raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.53.

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.