Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by BCK Partners Inc.

BCK Partners Inc. lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,237 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 0.7% of BCK Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. BCK Partners Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $196.79 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.77 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $219.65 and its 200-day moving average is $230.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.85.

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.