Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Professional Advisory Services Inc.

Professional Advisory Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,266 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,073 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.6% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Apple by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $241.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $239.60 and its 200-day moving average is $233.75.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Apple 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.