Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd

Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,348 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 5.6% of Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $172.42 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $225.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.01.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.23.

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.