Forza Wealth Management LLC Has $3.32 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Forza Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,265 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 293 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.5% of Forza Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL 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. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.55.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current 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 given 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 payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

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.