Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 2,329 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 51.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,836 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares during the quarter. Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Apple Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $237.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.67, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.42. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Maxim Group raised their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.