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

Instrumental Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,160 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.3% of Instrumental Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Instrumental Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 27.7% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $173.03 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $172.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. Apple’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.62.

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.