Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its Apple stake by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 97,256 shares and leaving it with 1,580,324 shares worth about $429.6 million.
• Apple’s stock continues to be widely held by institutions, with 67.73% of shares owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, even as several firms made new purchases in the latest quarter.
• Apple recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.01 EPS on $111.18 billion in revenue, and it also raised its dividend to $0.27 per share quarterly.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,580,324 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 97,256 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 0.6% of Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $429,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DiPaolo Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $916,000. Nolet Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $2,553,000. Investment Insight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $4,052,000. Stone Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,367,000. Finally, Lynch Investment Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,176,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $289.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.85 and a 12 month high of $317.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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