Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Reduced by Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 288,442 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,066 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.7% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $73,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $327.74 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $334.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $304.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.89. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly launching a new device leasing program with Klarna, a major change to how it sells hardware that could support upgrade demand and recurring device sales. Reuters: Apple to launch ‘Upgrade’ device leasing program to spur sales, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Apple, saying it is entering a powerful new upgrade cycle supported by AI and a strong hardware roadmap. Barchart: HSBC Says Apple Is Entering a Powerful New Upgrade Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators highlighted Apple’s pricing power, strong installed base, and relative insulation from the AI capex arms race as reasons investors are favoring AAPL over some other mega-cap tech names. MarketBeat: Apple Stock Sends Major Warning Signal as Momentum Hits Peak

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.