Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Deirdre O’brien Sells 43,013 Shares of Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Deirdre O’brien also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 8th, Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $258.02 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.15, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. Wedbush set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.49.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Beddow Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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. Salus Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.