Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 35,221 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 635,471 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 35,221 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.5% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $159,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its stake in shares of Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after buying an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $222.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $230.54 and its 200-day moving average is $233.42. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.52.

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.