Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Curtis Advisory Group LLC

Curtis Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,672 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 670 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.0% of Curtis Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Curtis Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 70.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 27.7% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $184.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $172.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.11.

Apple 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.