Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Laurel Wealth Planning LLC

Laurel Wealth Planning LLC lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,992 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management raised its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the 4th 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. High Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Corporation boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $4.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $173.50. 66,161,781 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,497,953. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.77. The company has a market cap of $2.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.62.

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.