ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing Sells 2,499 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,101 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,499 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.0% of ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing's holdings in Apple were worth $6,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Apple by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $192,700,000 after acquiring an additional 83,997 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in Apple by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.02.

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

Apple stock traded down $2.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $201.45. The stock had a trading volume of 72,665,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,221,299. The company has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's 50 day moving average price is $201.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.12. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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.