Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Arkansas Financial Group Inc.

Arkansas Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,633 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 473 shares during the quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MKT Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. now owns 3,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. 3D L Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 2.9% during the first quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Weik Capital Management grew its position in Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Weik Capital Management now owns 25,238 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 26,125 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,572,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $171.56 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.17 and a 1 year high of $176.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that allows the company to buyback $90.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.74.

Apple Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.