Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Petra Financial Advisors Inc.

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,043 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,001 shares during the period. Petra Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 26,797 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,588,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 101.9% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 700,836 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $120,086,000 after purchasing an additional 353,801 shares in the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 8.1% in the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 78,010 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,356,000 after purchasing an additional 5,870 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.1% in the third quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,492 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,193,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nikulski Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.2% during the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 77,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,353,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Maxim Group started coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

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.