Country Trust Bank Has $200.21 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Country Trust Bank decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 799,497 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 77,075 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 5.0% of Country Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $200,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Apple by 21.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $787,631,000 after acquiring an additional 588,427 shares in the last quarter. TL Private Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the third quarter. TL Private Wealth now owns 3,583 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Kelly Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kelly Financial Services LLC now owns 17,147 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA grew its stake in shares of Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 66,499 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,494,000 after buying an additional 2,719 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 133,518 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $31,110,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $223.85 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $230.94 and a 200 day moving average of $233.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.