Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) shares fell 3.6% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $191.06 and last traded at $195.82. 40,732,095 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 54,992,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $203.19.
Specifically, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.26.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Apple
Apple Stock Down 7.3 %
The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
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.
Further Reading
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