Insider Selling: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Sells 43,013 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Apple SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 43,013 shares of stock on October 2nd, totaling approximately $11 million, which represented a 23.94% decrease in her holdings.
• The company's stock price rose to $258.02, with a current market capitalization of $3.83 trillion and a PE ratio of 39.15.
• Apple announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26, with a yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Deirdre O'brien also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 8th, Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $258.02. 49,101,729 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 59,941,396. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $232.20 and its 200-day moving average is $214.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company 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%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.49.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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