Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by StrategIQ Financial Group LLC

StrategIQ Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,778 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 595 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.6% of StrategIQ Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. StrategIQ Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 784,520 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,318,000 after acquiring an additional 46,216 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 143,501 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $24,569,000 after acquiring an additional 5,981 shares during the period. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,407 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,685,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the period. Polaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Polaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 322,877 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $55,280,000 after acquiring an additional 140,750 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,813 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.05.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $169.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $162.80 and a one year high of $199.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.