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

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 97.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,966 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 159,353 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robinson Value Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its stake in Apple by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Align Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 14,693.8% during the 3rd quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,024,330 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 5,983,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Apple from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Cowen dropped their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total transaction of $9,261,412.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,766,188.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $172.07 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $176.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.30%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Apple

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.