Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0.2% on Insider Selling

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) fell 0.2% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $208.73 and last traded at $208.89. 11,001,366 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 56,633,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.28.

Specifically, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.31.

Apple Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.31.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders 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 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's payout ratio is 15.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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