Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Kessler Investment Group LLC

Kessler Investment Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,594 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,845 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 6.1% of Kessler Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Kessler Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $196.79 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.77 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.85.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’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 owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.