Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Essex LLC

Essex LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,179 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.5% of Essex LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Essex LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $231.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.33. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Apple Company 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.