Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.2% Following Insider Selling

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $224.13 and last traded at $225.30. Approximately 9,712,470 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 61,131,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.67.

Specifically, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Cfra increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Apple Stock Down 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.50.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% 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.