Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,376 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,498 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 5.2% of Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $71,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.19 on Friday, hitting $231.59. The stock had a trading volume of 56,003,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 63,552,584. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $209.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. 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 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.60.

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.