Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Goodman Advisory Group LLC

Goodman Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 51.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,309 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 24,751 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.4% of Goodman Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Goodman Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $5,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value 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. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $1.19 on Friday, reaching $231.59. 56,003,275 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,552,584. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $209.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.33. The company has a market capitalization 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 twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.