Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) COO Sells $24,997,000.00 in Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Apple Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $254.49 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $234.97 and a 200-day moving average of $225.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $255.00. The company has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Apple by 127.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after buying an additional 42,282 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 761,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $130,629,000 after acquiring an additional 17,519 shares in the last quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC boosted its position in Apple by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 42,930 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,362,000 after purchasing an additional 27,111 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP increased its holdings in Apple by 97.3% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 157,833 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,065,000 after purchasing an additional 77,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.2% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 822,174 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $140,986,000 after purchasing an additional 10,031 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.