Defender Capital LLC. Sells 129 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Defender Capital LLC. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,950 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.3% of Defender Capital LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Defender Capital LLC.’s holdings in Apple were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth $487,435,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $461,021,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.80 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.03.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler Companies lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.05.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.