Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.

McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,870 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Apple makes up 5.5% of McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,982 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $2,452,000. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,221,000. Finally, Birch Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 72,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,128,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $244.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $240.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.