Romano Brothers AND Company Decreases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Romano Brothers AND Company reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,363 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.4% of Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 2.7% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $60,958,000 after purchasing an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after purchasing an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $235.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $237.89 and a 200-day moving average of $233.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. 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 payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.