Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by StrategIQ Financial Group LLC

StrategIQ Financial Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,778 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 595 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.6% of StrategIQ Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. StrategIQ Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after buying an additional 2,018,010 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after buying an additional 2,826,709 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,605,195,000 after buying an additional 1,696,576 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,020,609,000 after buying an additional 287,329 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,616,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,502,541,000 after buying an additional 1,018,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $169.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.80 and a 1 year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Maxim Group assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

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.