Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 984,951 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 22,835 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 7.1% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $189,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its stake in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 70.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 27.7% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $169.02 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.80 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $173.58 and its 200 day moving average is $181.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.