Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Founders Capital Management’s 3rd Largest Position

Founders Capital Management trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 38,880 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 667 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 6.2% of Founders Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Founders Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

AAPL stock opened at $245.55 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $240.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.98, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.