Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Reduced by Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC

Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,837 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 590 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 14.2% of Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after acquiring an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $214.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.33. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. 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.