Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Sells 33,952 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 657,032 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 33,952 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.7% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $126,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 70.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 27.7% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

AAPL stock opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.80 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler Companies cut Apple to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.05.

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.