Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Caerus Investment Advisors LLC

Caerus Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,917 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.3% of Caerus Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 16,252.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 6,949,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its stake in Apple by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $169.38 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.80 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.