Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CFO Sells $1,038,790.61 in Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Apple Stock Up 2.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $252.29 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 2.46 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. The business’s 50-day moving average is $241.13 and its 200 day moving average is $216.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. CLSA raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Capstone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 10,609 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,701,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.