Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Atwood & Palmer Inc.

Atwood & Palmer Inc. lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,519 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.2% of Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $32,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $239.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.95, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.14.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.

Apple Company 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.