Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Katherine L. Adams Sells 61,019 Shares

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $226.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $222.90 and a 200-day moving average of $203.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. National Pension Service boosted its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 24,534,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,723,672,000 after acquiring an additional 461,321 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 237,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $45,714,000 after purchasing an additional 2,773 shares in the last quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 127,590 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,751 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 85,726 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,505,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 369,289 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $71,099,000 after buying an additional 25,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and set a $247.61 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.76.

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.