Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,384 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,336 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.2% of Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.'s holdings in Apple were worth $28,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $208.32. 24,722,624 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,689,747. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $216.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.04, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.15 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush lowered their price target on Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.88.

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.