Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,064 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.3% of Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.26.

Apple Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $190.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $223.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.33. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.23, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.