Trust Co of the South Sells 368 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Trust Co of the South lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,987 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 368 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.7% of Trust Co of the South’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Trust Co of the South’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $3,026,492,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC increased its stake in Apple by 23,076.4% during the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $226.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.44.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.63.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387. 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.