Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Sicart Associates LLC

Sicart Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,999 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 1.8% of Sicart Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Sicart Associates LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 16,252.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 6,949,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Maxim Group began coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.34.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $168.00 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.80 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.