Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Financial Strategies Group Inc.

Financial Strategies Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,316 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,152 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.6% of Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $234.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $240.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.85.

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.