Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Semus Wealth Partners LLC

Semus Wealth Partners LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 135,878 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 582 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 21.4% of Semus Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Semus Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 5.5% in the third quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. now owns 11,464 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 13.6% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 172,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $29,589,000 after acquiring an additional 20,737 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,236,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,461,000 after acquiring an additional 10,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 4,307,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $829,240,000 after acquiring an additional 279,311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $169.89 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.85. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $162.80 and a one year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.01 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s 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 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 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 is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, 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 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price for the company. Redburn Partners downgraded shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

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.