Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 693,734 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 15,705 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.5% of Sigma Planning Corp's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Apple were worth $173,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.25.

Apple Trading Down 3.7 %

AAPL traded down $7.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $205.35. 100,891,435 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,620,753. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $212.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.63. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. 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 cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.87%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.