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

Divergent Planning LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,746 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 427 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 0.7% of Divergent Planning LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Divergent Planning LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 247,087 shares of company stock valued at $44,016,111. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $210.62 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $192.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.31. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.71.

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.