Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 237,368 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 25,838 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.8% of Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $59,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Apple by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $787,631,000 after acquiring an additional 588,427 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 36,862 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,589,000 after acquiring an additional 4,168 shares in the last quarter. Nova R Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the third quarter. Nova R Wealth Inc. now owns 34,104 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,946,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 199,665 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $46,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701 shares during the period. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $188.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $229.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.96.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Company 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.