Synergy Financial Group LTD Sells 289 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Synergy Financial Group LTD decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,550 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 289 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.5% of Synergy Financial Group LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Synergy Financial Group LTD’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.17.

Apple Trading Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $205.35 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. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $212.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.61.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.