Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) COO Jeffrey E. Williams Sells 59,162 Shares

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Apple Trading Down 2.2 %

AAPL stock traded down $3.86 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $172.69. 73,470,463 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,349,430. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.80 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $176.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.31.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for 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%. Apple’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.56%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies cut shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 16,252.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 6,949,659 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.