Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 2% Following Insider Selling

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares traded down 2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $169.12 and last traded at $169.28. 22,372,481 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 60,760,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.69.

Specifically, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.08.

Apple Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.31.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.