Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,231 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.4% of Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 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 raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.22.

Apple Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $216.98 on Thursday. 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 quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $235.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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