Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0.9% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traded down 0.9% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $173.83 and last traded at $174.94. 17,675,051 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 60,575,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.55.

Specifically, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Redburn Partners lowered Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.08.

Apple Stock Down 1.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. 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’s 50-day moving average is $176.00 and its 200 day moving average is $182.31.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 16,252.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 6,949,659 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.