Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Spirit of America Management Corp NY

Spirit of America Management Corp NY lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 45,182 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.3% of Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.8% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after buying an additional 28,799 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after buying an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management boosted its position in Apple by 2.5% during the third quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 276,791 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $64,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,711 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $188.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $229.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.96.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.26.

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.