Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 3.6% After Insider Selling

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were down 3.6% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $191.06 and last traded at $195.82. Approximately 40,732,095 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily 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 firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.26.

Apple Stock Down 7.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a PEG 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $229.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.07.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its position in shares of Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after buying an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 276,791 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $64,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,711 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.