Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Cut by St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,707 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.8% of St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in 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 stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Four equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.22.

Apple Stock Up 1.8 %

AAPL stock opened at $213.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.89, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.