Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Alerus Financial NA

Alerus Financial NA decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,069 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 27,780 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.1% of Alerus Financial NA's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Alerus Financial NA's holdings in Apple were worth $53,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Citigroup reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $202.67. The company had a trading volume of 54,532,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,050,913. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.