Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Ruggaard & Associates LLC

Ruggaard & Associates LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,026 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,225 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.9% of Ruggaard & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ruggaard & Associates LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Overbrook Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,449,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $1,178,000. Tufton Capital Management increased its holdings in Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Apple by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,915,172,000 after acquiring an additional 214,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.59.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.85 and a 12-month high of $317.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $289.73 and a 200 day moving average of $272.98.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Apple Profile

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.