Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by BLB&B Advisors LLC

BLB&B Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 307,294 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,349 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.7% of BLB&B Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $59,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP boosted its holdings in Apple by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.8 %

AAPL stock opened at $168.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $175.57 and its 200 day moving average is $182.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.80 and a 1-year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

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.