Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CFO Sells $9,262,139.28 in Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Apple Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $168.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.80 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.21.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.34.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Flagstone Financial Management increased its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 9,202 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kraft Davis & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.