Paragon Advisors LLC Acquires 1,557 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Paragon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,685 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Paragon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $245.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $240.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.