Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 199 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,762 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 199 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.6% of Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $214.10 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.33. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap 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. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio 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.