Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Wealth Architects LLC

Wealth Architects LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,403 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.0% of Wealth Architects LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Wealth Architects LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $43,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $199.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 70,744,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,229,633. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The business's 50-day moving average is $203.10 and its 200-day moving average is $225.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.