Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,765 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,729 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.4% of Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Apple by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Apple by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826,709 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Apple by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,605,195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,576 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,020,609,000 after acquiring an additional 287,329 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Apple by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,616,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,502,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,430 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson started coverage on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price target for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Redburn Atlantic lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Maxim Group started coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.05.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $169.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.94. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.80 and a 52 week high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 14.95%.

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.