Insider Selling: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Sells 1,439 Shares

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.95, for a total transaction of $447,457.05.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.49, for a total value of $442,478.11.
• On Tuesday, August 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25.

Apple Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of AAPL traded up $3.25 on Thursday, reaching $328.21. The stock had a trading volume of 37,196,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,968,535. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $225.95 and a 12-month high of $344.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 12.39%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors initially welcomed hardware chief John Ternus taking over as CEO from Tim Cook, viewing the transition as orderly while Cook remains executive chairman. Ternus has called next week’s iPhone event “phenomenal,” raising expectations for the company’s first major product launch under his leadership. Apple shares rise as John Ternus takes over as CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is looking to the September 9 iPhone event for a catalyst. Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating and a $360 price target, while analysts believe a premium foldable iPhone could contribute about $14 billion to the December quarter and potentially create a significant new product category. Morgan Stanley on Apple’s foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Services momentum, recurring subscription revenue and Apple’s history of earnings beats remain part of the bullish case. Recent price increases for Apple TV and Apple One could support Services revenue, although investors will watch for any effect on customer retention. Apple raises Apple TV and Apple One prices

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Avenir Tech Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.61.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.