Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,265 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,547 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.5% of Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hickory Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $807,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 28,826 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,219,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the period. Howard Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,501 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,890,000 after buying an additional 2,242 shares during the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 139,442 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,919,000 after acquiring an additional 34,269 shares during the period. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 361,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $90,633,000 after acquiring an additional 5,039 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.3 %

AAPL opened at $196.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.77 and a one year high of $260.10. 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 $219.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.85.

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.