Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.9% on Insider Selling

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price fell 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $173.83 and last traded at $174.94. 17,675,051 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 60,575,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.55.

Specifically, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Piper Sandler Companies cut Apple to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.08.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $176.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP grew its stake in shares of Apple by 200.0% in the third quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.