Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 124,544 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,805 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.8% of Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $31,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 3.7 %

AAPL stock traded down $7.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $205.35. 100,891,435 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,192,627. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $212.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.61. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James dropped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.17.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.