Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,375,474 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 139,436 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.7% of Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $1,095,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Maxim Group increased their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James decreased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $195.64. The stock had a trading volume of 38,432,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,632,706. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.66. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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

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.