Delta Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,261 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Delta Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 452,606 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,261 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 27.4% of Delta Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $87,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs increased its holdings in Apple by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs now owns 15,842 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,050,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 48,180 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,804 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $3,458,000. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 414,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $79,894,000 after purchasing an additional 9,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $3,018,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 253,915 shares of company stock valued at $44,202,868 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $176.55 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.42 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.08.

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.