Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Mayfair Advisory Group LLC

Mayfair Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,905 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,335 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.7% of Mayfair Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation increased its position in Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Redburn Partners lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $168.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $175.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.80 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.