Lockerman Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Lockerman Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,311 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.7% of Lockerman Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Lockerman Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $227.48 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $237.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.16. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.