Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Aspiriant LLC

Aspiriant LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 300,142 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,409 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.7% of Aspiriant LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $75,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

Apple Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $227.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $237.06 and a 200 day moving average of $234.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.