Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by M. Kulyk & Associates LLC

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,456 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.4% of M. Kulyk & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded down $1.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $206.86. The company had a trading volume of 42,411,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,903,925. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.83, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $205.93 and a 200-day moving average of $226.57. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Scotiabank lowered Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Company 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.