Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Dakota Wealth Management’s 2nd Largest Position

Dakota Wealth Management lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 669,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 17,262 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.9% of Dakota Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $167,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.22.

Apple Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $216.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $235.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.00. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

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.