Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Venture Visionary Partners LLC

Venture Visionary Partners LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 347,888 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,304 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.6% of Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $87,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $202.67 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.86.

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.