Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Eagle Ridge Investment Management

Eagle Ridge Investment Management lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,520 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 965 shares during the period. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citrine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $801,000. Rik Saylor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,513,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 207,934 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $52,071,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the period. McHugh Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,124,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Apple by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 59,873 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,993,000 after purchasing an additional 12,673 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.26.

Apple Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $188.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $229.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.16. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.