Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.4% Following Insider Selling

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.4% on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $206.20 and last traded at $207.44. Approximately 10,715,729 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 59,345,734 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.37.

Specifically, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. The trade was 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 available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.88.

Apple Trading Up 0.4 %

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $215.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.