Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Has $71.40 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,127 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,143 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 18.9% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $71,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $238.03 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $239.26 and its 200 day moving average is $233.85.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.