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

Laurel Wealth Planning LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,881 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,912,466,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its position in Apple by 23,076.4% in the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 158.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $227.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Cfra increased their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.