Friedenthal Financial Acquires 4,070 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Friedenthal Financial raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 704.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,070 shares during the quarter. Friedenthal Financial’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd 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 bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd 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. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $245.55 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 market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.47 and a 200 day moving average of $232.72.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS 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 forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. UBS Group set a $270.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Apple to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.85.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.