Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 177,056 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,861 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.9% of Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $44,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Country Club Bank increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 146,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,273 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Apple by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,190,986 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,321,597,000 after purchasing an additional 280,049 shares during the period. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 21,618 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,414,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Financial LLP acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,657,000. Finally, Berkshire Money Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Money Management Inc. now owns 23,133 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,793,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.26.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $188.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $229.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.