Violich Capital Management Inc. Has $61.84 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Violich Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 246,947 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,364 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 8.0% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $61,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $198.15 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.26.

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.