Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.27

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of 0.27 per share by the iPhone maker on Thursday, May 14th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This is a 3.8% increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26.

Apple has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Apple has a dividend payout ratio of 13.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Apple to earn $9.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.2%.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $271.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $260.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.02. Apple has a twelve month low of $193.25 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Apple

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.