Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Atwater Malick LLC’s Largest Position

Atwater Malick LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 107,350 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,376 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 9.0% of Atwater Malick LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Atwater Malick LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.6 %

AAPL opened at $238.03 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $239.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.85.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.