RMR Wealth Builders Grows Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

RMR Wealth Builders raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,262 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.1% of RMR Wealth Builders’ portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Apple were worth $29,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wambolt & Associates LLC grew its position in Apple by 5.4% in the second quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 82,669 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,919,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228 shares during the last quarter. Wealthgarden F.S. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,807,000. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 60,477 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 97,003 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $20,431,000 after purchasing an additional 6,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors lifted its stake in Apple by 120.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 13,388 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 7,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.3 %

AAPL stock opened at $237.30 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.42. The company has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

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.