Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Decreased by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,109 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,825 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.2% of GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $32,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after buying an additional 5,893,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded down $14.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $188.38. 125,530,035 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,311,458. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $229.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.26.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.