Katherine Adams Sells 47,125 Shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Katherine Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Apple Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AAPL opened at $258.02 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.69.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.49.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Salus Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.