Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Planning Directions Inc.

Planning Directions Inc. reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,145 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 754 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 6.0% of Planning Directions Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Planning Directions Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisory boosted its position in Apple by 3.8% during the second quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Core Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the second quarter. Core Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.05.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $222.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $240.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.69. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

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.