Insider Selling: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Sells $8,683,316.74 in Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Apple Stock Down 7.3 %

AAPL stock opened at $188.38 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Apple by 12.8% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,505,000 after buying an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.26.

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.