Insider Selling: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CFO Sells 59,305 Shares of Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $4.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $225.77. 31,834,011 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,009,594. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $222.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $4,782,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.