Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.9% on Insider Selling

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.9% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $173.83 and last traded at $174.94. 17,675,051 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 60,575,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.55.

Specifically, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 three months, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 22nd. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Redburn Partners lowered Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.08.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $176.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.31.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV grew its position in Apple by 2.6% during the first quarter. Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV now owns 49,490 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,487,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 44,631 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,653,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Monumental Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.3% during the first quarter. Monumental Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,154 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 12.4% in the first quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 136,901 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,476,000 after purchasing an additional 15,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in Apple by 14.4% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 74,025 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,694,000 after purchasing an additional 9,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.