Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Sells $50,275,897.56 in Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Apple Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $1.11 on Thursday, reaching $225.67. The company had a trading volume of 33,924,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,400,199. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $222.72 and its 200 day moving average is $203.50. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Apple by 7.5% during the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 160,653 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $37,432,000 after acquiring an additional 11,213 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 187.4% during the 3rd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 33,363 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,773,000 after purchasing an additional 21,755 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 46,161 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,756,000 after buying an additional 8,352 shares during the last quarter. CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. grew its position in Apple by 10.7% during the third quarter. CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. now owns 20,515 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,780,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.6% during the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 79,072 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $17,932,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.