Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC

Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,112 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $220.84 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $236.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.12. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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, research 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.

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.