Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Towerpoint Wealth LLC

Towerpoint Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,225 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 701 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.1% of Towerpoint Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Towerpoint Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP increased its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $237.33 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.68.

About Apple

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.