Short Interest in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Drops By 6.3%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 101,910,000 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the March 31st total of 108,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 60,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $169.30 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.83. Apple has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

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.