Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.26

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of 0.26 per share by the iPhone maker on Thursday, February 12th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th.

Apple has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Apple has a dividend payout ratio of 13.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Apple to earn $8.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.7%.

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $256.87. 14,628,734 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,068,602. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $268.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.07. Apple has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62. The company has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%. Equities analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.