Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.3% on Insider Selling

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.3% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $209.54 and last traded at $211.79. Approximately 12,140,721 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 55,863,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.33.

Specifically, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Loop Capital cut their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Down 0.0%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clough Capital Partners L P boosted its position in Apple by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P now owns 107,525 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $23,885,000 after buying an additional 5,035 shares during the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its position in shares of Apple by 8.6% in the first quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 25,999 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Apple by 28.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,690,301 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,373,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,333,811 shares during the period. Pembroke Management LTD bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,822,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% 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.

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