Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,378,926 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 52,510 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.2% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $345,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $3.82 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $193.16. 46,653,946 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,785,313. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $218.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.90. 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 company has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.77 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

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, 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%. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.85.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value 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 trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 in the last ninety days. 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.