Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Increased by Stonehearth Capital Management LLC

Stonehearth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,493 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.7% of Stonehearth Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Apple by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 654,345 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $163,861,000 after buying an additional 49,309 shares in the last quarter. Ridgeline Wealth LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $739,000. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 117.4% during the fourth quarter. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,782,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida lifted its position in Apple by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 15,246 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,818,000 after purchasing an additional 3,433 shares during the period. Finally, Advance Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,882 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $244.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

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.