Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.5% of Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 2.9 %

AAPL stock opened at $220.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.