Fermata Advisors LLC Sells 2,358 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Fermata Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,816 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,358 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.6% of Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP grew its holdings in Apple by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its holdings in Apple by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $168.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.80 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $175.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.21.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Maxim Group began coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies lowered Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.34.

Apple Company Profile

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.