Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Trimmed by Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC

Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 399,572 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 12,047 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 15.8% of Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $76,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in Apple by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $111,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 54,732 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $196.00 price objective (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.11.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $189.84. 52,800,945 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,944,156. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The stock's 50-day moving average is $173.33 and its 200-day moving average is $182.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple 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.