Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Lee Financial Co

Lee Financial Co lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,838 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,228 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.1% of Lee Financial Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Lee Financial Co's holdings in Apple were worth $29,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $1.17 on Friday, hitting $207.20. The company had a trading volume of 12,567,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,642,469. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.15 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.42.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James upped their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.